Elephant bird bird" egg after it was radiographed. It is widely believed that the extinction of "Aepyornis" was a result of human activity. The birds were initially widespread, occurring from the northern to the southern tip of Madagascar. One theory states that humans hunted the elephant birds to extinction in a very short time for such a large landmass (the Blitzkrieg hypothesis). There is indeed evidence that they were hunted and their preferred habitats destroyed. Eggs may have been particularly vulnerable. 19th-century travelers saw eggshells used as bowls, and a recent archaeological study found remains of eggshells among the remains of human
Morfil Island the island, but are now locally extinct. The French colonists would use the island for elephant hunting. The main towns on the island are Podor and Salde. Morfil Island Morfil Island (; lit. "Ivory Island") is an island lying between the River Senegal and the Doué River in northern Senegal. "Morfil" is an antiquated French term for raw ivory. It is separate from the mainland for almost 150 km. Around the 11th century, Morfil was the centre of Tekrur, one of the first Islamic Sub-Saharan states. As such, it was an important centre of trans-Saharan trade. The island later became