Elephant bird 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 the suspected cause. Elephant birds comprised the genera "Mullerornis", "Vorombe" and "Aepyornis". While they were in close geographical proximity to the ostrich, their closest living relatives are kiwi, suggesting that ratites did not diversify by vicariance during the breakup of Gondwana but instead evolved from ancestors that dispersed more recently by flying. In September 2018, scientists
Seeing the elephant of trail diaries, not a single author was found who wrote of dreading to see the elephant in this beginning stage of the trail. Even entries from the second or third month on the trail were perhaps anxious but rarely glum. In a letter back to his wife, a doctor wrote: "We are now advanced on our trip about 200 miles and in all this trip I have not seen the 'Elephant.' I am told, however, that he is ahead, and if I live, I am determined to see him." This man actually wanted to see the elephant. As the