Madagascar (TV series) in March 2011. In this one-off programme, David Attenborough undertakes a personal journey back to Madagascar to investigate the fate of "Aepyornis", the island's extinct elephant birds. Believed to be the largest birds which have ever lived, evidence of their existence can still be found on the island. Whilst filming "Zoo Quest to Madagascar" in 1961, Attenborough pieced together a complete elephant bird egg from fragments of shell collected for him. "Madagascar" was first announced in March 2009 as a partnership between Animal Planet and BBC Worldwide. Production duties were handled by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, with
Dwarf elephant as "Elephas tiliensis". The Tilos dwarf elephant is the first dwarf elephant whose DNA sequence has been studied. The results of this research are consistent with previous morphological reports, according to which "Palaeoloxodon" is more closely related to "Elephas" than to "Loxodonta" or "Mammuthus". After the study of new osteological material that has been excavated in anatomical connection in the Charkadio Cave on Tilos island the new species name "Elephas tiliensis" has been assigned to the Tilos dwarf elephants. It was the latest paleoloxodontine to survive in Europe. They did not become extinct until around 4000 BC, so this elephant