Elephant bird to carry off large primates; today, lemurs still retain a fear of aerial predators such as these. Another might be the perception of ratites retaining neotenic features and thus being mistaken for enormous chicks of a presumably more massive bird. The ancient Malagasy name for the bird is vorompatra, meaning "bird of the Ampatres". The Ampatres are today known as the Androy region of southern Madagascar. Like the ostrich, rhea, cassowary, emu, kiwi and extinct moa, "Mullerornis" and "Aepyornis" were ratites; they could not fly, and their breast bones had no keel. Because Madagascar and Africa separated before the ratite
Joint Services Expedition to Elephant Island Joint Services Expedition to Elephant Island The Joint Services Expedition to Elephant Island was a British scientific surveying and mountaineering expedition to Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It took place from December 1970 to March 1971. Except for one civilian from the British Antarctic Survey, the 14 participants were serving members of the British Armed Forces under the leadership of Commander Malcolm Burley of the Royal Navy. The expedition was sponsored by the Joint Services Expedition Trust with the aim of climbing, exploring and carrying out a preliminary scientific survey of islands in the Elephant group