Day 331 - Elephant Birds, Dwarf Hippos, and other Mysterious Creatures

elephant bird egg on the left by  edenpictures  A dinosaur that lived well into historic times, the elephant bird probably survived in Madagascar due to the lack of competition and lack of fear of humans. Since the birds survived until the 17th century, humans had plenty of time to discover how to hunt them, although it is likely they became extinct because of disease introduced with rats which arrived along with humans arrived. It didn't get its name because it was as big as an elephant or because it had a large bill but because it was believed it could snatch up and carry off a baby elephant. From the skeletons found on the island, the elephant birds reached ten feet in height and close to a thousand pounds in weight.  Like other large birds we know, such as ostriches and emus, the elephant bird was flightless.

a dwarf hippo
 by  Jen McKenzie

The eggs of an elephant bird held the equivalent volume to 180 chicken eggs. There have been claims that a complete elephant bird egg has been recovered from the sea as far away as Australia. In April of 2013 a complete, partially fossilized elephant bird egg was sold at auction at Christie's in London for more than $100,000. The elephant bird eggs for sale in the markets in Madagascar are reconstructed from pieces and go for much less, but since the birds are technically dinosaurs, I refrained from picking one up to tuck away in my suitcase.

There are reports that scientists may manipulate fragments of the DNA of the elephant bird, extracted from the eggshell, to resurrect it, a process called de-extinction.

a giraffe beetle
by  ledgr 

The oversized elephant bird is at one end of the size range of extinct animals. At the other end is the undersized dwarf hippo which also coexisted with humans for at least 1,000 years, perhaps longer. Dwarf hippos were not native to Madagascar. They probably migrated across the Mozambique channel from west Africa where another species of hippopotamus, the pygmy hippo, still exists, while the channel was shallow or while there were islands in the channel to help bridge the 225 miles that separate the island from the continent. But the dwarf hippo may have arrived in Madagascar as a normal-sized animal and grown smaller over time through insular dwarfism, a process of animals becoming smaller over successive generations when the area for foraging is small, such as on an island. The eyes of both the extinct dwarf hippo and the extant pygmy hippo of east Africa are on the sides of the animal's head instead of forward-facing on the top of the head as is the case for regular hippos.

In the 1990s, an anthropologist studying recent extinctions in Madagascar collected stories about an animal that had been seen in a west coast fishing village. Several villagers independently described the animal as recently as 1976 as resembling a hippopotamus that when frightened fled under water. No other animal in Madagascar fits that description, leading some to conclude that the dwarf hippo has only recently become extinct.

fossa
 by  csyork65 

tomato frog   by  David d'O

Madagascar has plenty of other unique wildlife including tiny frogs; insects including the long-necked giraffe beetles; geckos of all colors; chameleons; the lion-like fossa, the natural enemy of the lemur which is not in the cat family at all but rather is a relative of the monkey; and radiated tortoise. The inclusion of the fossa in the DreamWorks movie Madagascar was one touch that impressed me as it was entirely unnecessary for the story, but an accurate reference to Madagascar native animals. Since nearly all the large animals of Madagascar have all become extinct, and slash and burn agriculture has destroyed much of the natural habitat of the remaining animals, nearly all animal life in Madagascar needs protection.