Elephant bird birds and human beings and their eventual extinction, as they apparently coexisted for a massive period of time. However, the absence so far for any evidence of human habitation in the succeeding 6000 years raises difficult questions concerning whether the early human presence might have been temporary, and/or restricted to just a portion of the island. Elephant bird Elephant birds are members of the extinct ratite family Aepyornithidae, made up of large to enormous flightless birds that once lived on the island of Madagascar. They became extinct, perhaps around 1000–1200 CE, for reasons that are unclear, although human activity is
Rotamah Island Bird Observatory island to Ninety Mile Beach. These factors give visitors easy access to both freshwater and marine habitats. There is a small population of the introduced Hog Deer on the island. In 2001 negotiations between Birds Australia and Parks Victoria, on renewal of the lease to the observatory, broke down and Birds Australia's association with Rotamah Island ended. Rotamah Island Bird Observatory Rotamah Island Bird Observatory was established in 1979 on Rotamah Island in the Gippsland Lakes National Park in eastern Victoria, Australia, by Birds Australia as Australia's second bird observatory, in order to provide a base for the study and