Dodo Rider Zombie

Dodo bird with an imp rider. The dodo can flap and jump over barricades as well as troublesome plants.

## In-game statistics

### Weakness

    (butter, gas, stun, and knockback forces flying dodos to land)
  (while flying)
 (tall enough to obstruct and stop it)
   (Plant Food barrier forces dodo to eat it instead of flying over it)
 (prioritizes zombie)

### First seen (China)

Frostbite Caves - Day 7

Dodo Rider believes dodos are the future of transportation. He believes a public dodo-riding system is not only a wise expenditure of tax dollars but would help the vast majority of zombies get where they need to go more efficiently. Everyone keeps telling him there's no future in dodos, but he refuses to listen.

**Dodo Rider Zombie** is the sixth zombie encountered in Frostbite Caves in *Plants vs. Zombies 2*. The Dodo Rider Zombie will glide whenever he encounters certain plants, like Wall-nuts or Spikeweeds, or a slider. Otherwise, he will proceed normally.

## Origin

     The Dodo Rider Zombie is based on the Dodo bird or otherwise known by its scientific name, *Raphus cucullatus* itself, an extinct type of bird that lived until the 17th century.

## Description

Dodo Rider Zombie's Dodo's feathers are colored completely in violet while the face and wings are yellow colored. His feet are orange and the nails and beak are all black. The Dodo is ridden by an Imp that wears a brown-colored sweater with white fur linings, brown gloves, yellow socks and shoes and dark brown animal-skin pants. This Imp, unlike Yeti Imp, has a different type of head shape, meaning that he belongs to the *Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis*, a extinct human species that lived in Frostbite Caves' time period, as do all the other zombies in this world with the exception of Ice Weasel and the Walrus Zombie from the Chinese version, as they are animals and not deceased human species that supposedly become zombies after their death.

## Almanac entry

**Dodo Rider Zombie**

TOUGHNESS: Protected

SPEED: Speedy

Dodo bird with an imp rider. The dodo can flap and jump over barricades as well as troublesome plants.

Dodo Rider believes dodos are the future of transportation. He believes a public dodo-riding system is not only a wise expenditure of tax dollars but would help the vast majority of zombies get where they need to go more efficiently. Everyone keeps telling him there's no future in dodos, but he refuses to listen.

## Overview

Dodo Rider Zombie absorbs 490 damage per shot and degrades upon absorbing 180 and 320 damage per shot before dying at 490, and dies in a similar fashion to Zombie Parrots and Zombie Chickens. On land, it moves slightly faster. Small yellow spots appear on the dodo when it degrades.

## Encounters

### *Plants vs. Zombies 2*

Player's House: Piñata Party

Far Future: Piñata Party

Frostbite Caves: Days 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, Icebound Battleground, and "Electrical Boogaloo" Epic Quest - Step 6

Modern Day: Days 10, 25, 34, and Highway to the Danger Room (portal only)

Arena: Power Lily’s Garden Party Tournament

## Strategies

### General

Compared to Seagull Zombies, Jetpack Zombies, and Zombie Parrots, the Dodo Rider Zombie can bypass sliders. However, unlike the three previous zombies that fly, this one will land on the ground for countless times after gliding. Use a Blover or Hurrikale quickly, because Dodo Rider Zombies are a bit harder to blow away than Seagull Zombies. An interesting fact, however, is that Dodo Riders may simply change lanes if pushed back onto a slider tile by Hurrikale. Therefore, Blover is more efficient in terms of both sun and usage when used solely on the Dodo Rider. Chard Guard can also be placed near the sliders to prevent Dodo Rider Zombies from proceeding to your backmost defenses. Furthermore, once it has lost all of its leaves, Dodo Rider will eat it rather than try to fly over it which makes it good for stalling as well. If paired with Hunter Zombies, Blockhead Zombies, Sloth Gargantuars, the Snowstorm ambush, and the frosty wind effect, they can cause massive mayhem on your defenses.

Guacodiles are good ideas to use against this zombie. It is recommended to plant a Guacodile on a tile where a Dodo Rider Zombie will land on so that it will start rushing immediately to kill the Dodo Rider Zombie and some zombies that are about to step on the sliders.

Magnifying Grasses can instantly kill this zombie as long as you have enough sun. The use of the shot to destroy and Blover both cost 50 sun to kill a Dodo Rider Zombie though. Primal Peashooters are a good choice as their peas can knock the Dodo Riders back, forcing them to be on the ground. Kernel-pults can stun flying Dodo Riders with their butter attack. Stunion can also be effective. Apple Mortars are also useful as they can stun Dodos in the air, forcing them on the ground, similar to Primal Peashooter. Coconut Cannons and Banana Launchers are also very good ideas to destroy this zombie, but keep a Pepper-pult, Fire Peashooter, or Torchwood adjacent to them or you will risk having them being frozen before you tap on the Coconut Cannon to destroy Dodo Rider Zombies. It is recommended to have a Sweet Potato to do this though, along with a Hot Potato to prevent it from being frozen.

Plants that can attack forward and backward such as Split Peas, Starfruits and Celery Stalkers are quite useful once the Dodo Rider Zombie has bypassed the sliders. This is to prevent them from approaching your house. Furthermore, Tall-nuts are particularly useful if you don't want Dodo Riders Zombies to bypass your defenses at all. Simply make sure your counter of choice is heated by another source or itself; otherwise, it will be rendered useless. Infi-nut's Plant Food can also work.

### Dodo Adventure (China only)

In this game, you must control a Dodo Rider Zombie safely across the icy waters. First, avoid the Guacodiles that are moving from cave to cave. The part with ice floes is very challenging, as you must have correct timing to jump on one of them. As soon as the first Dodo Rider Zombie has crossed the icy water, two Chompers will appear. Avoid jumping on the tile where a Chomper is standing on or you will lose a Dodo. If you lose all Dodos, the game is over.

## Trivia

* Real-life dodos aren't native to the Northern Hemisphere, but in Mauritius, a small tropical island in the Indian Ocean.
* Dodos, like several other birds in real life, cannot even become airborne anyways.
* In the Almanac, the phrase "Everyone keeps telling him there's no future in dodos" is an allusion to their extinction due to human hunting.
* While gliding, it moves significantly slower than its usual speed.
* If they land (after getting hit by butter) on a slider, they will change lanes, then will be paralyzed for a while.
	+ It can also change lanes on a slider via Hurrikale when it is on the ground, though this does not happen all of the time.
* Dodos will try to glide over Spikeweeds and Spikerocks, but if they rest, they will take damage.
* It is one of the few zombies to vocalize, saying "Whoop" when walking on land once every second. It also makes a specific sound before entering the lawn.
* It is voiced by Adrien Yorozu, the main producer of the game, according to the credits.
* Its rider is the only zombie riding another that does not appear separately in the whole franchise.
* The dodo is the fourth bird in the series while the others being Seagull Zombie's seagull, Zombie Parrot, and Zombie Chicken.
	+ Out of these, it is the only one that is extinct.
	+ It is also the only one that does not get killed by butter in one shot.
	+ It also has the largest sprite out of these birds.
* Its Imp disappears when this zombie is killed. Also, like Seagull Zombie, its Imp does not lose its arm or its head when it is damaged because it does not have a degraded form.
* If it is hypnotized and the dodo starts gliding, the dodo will not land. It will keep gliding to the right, and eventually go off-screen.
* Electrocuting it will make the player see the Imp and the Dodo share a bone.
	+ This might be the reason why it cannot release its Imp.
	+ This implies that both the Imp and Dodo do not have skulls, however, it is unknown how the Dodo can support its head, considering there is no skull to do so.
* Imp Rider is the second type of Imp that cannot be faced on its own, the first being Announcer Imp.
* When dying, it explodes in poof of its feathers, similar to the Seagull Zombie, the Zombie Parrot and the Zombie Chicken.
	+ All of these feathers are yellow, even though majority of the feathers are purple when it is alive.
* Before it dies from Chili Bean, it will look behind itself, then blow up into feathers.
* If it eats a Chili Bean, on rare occasions, it will not release gas. It is unknown what causes this, or if it is a glitch or not.
* It is the second zombie whose Almanac stats were changed, with the first being Pharaoh Zombie.
* It is one of the three zombies in Frostbite Caves which are animals, with the other ones being Ice Weasel and Walrus Zombie, the final one specific to Chinese version only.
* If shrunken by a Shrinking Violet, since Imps shrink into oblivion, only the dodo will be left.
	+ However, the Dodo still functions as usual, and can even eat the player's brains.
* It is the only special zombie that got its own costume in the Luck O' The Zombie Piñata Parties.
* It is the third zombie to use a bird as a mode of transportation, out of the three zombies that use birds as a means of transportation. The first is Seagull Zombie and the third is Bird Rider Zombie.
* The Imp rider's face closely resembles the face of the Jurassic Imp.
* Snap Pea, if eats this zombie, will throw the head of the Imp, not the dodo's head.
	+ Even if the player lets Snap Pea eat a shrunken Dodo Rider Zombie, it will still throw the Imp head although the Imp has disappeared. However, the Imp head will appear to be very tiny, much smaller than usual.
	+ This is also the only way to see a tiny Imp head.

## See also

* Dodo Adventure

ru:Зомби-додо fr:Zombie Dodo