ELEPHANT BIRD

About:

• Elephant birds are members of the extinct family Aepyornithidae, that once lived on the island of
  
  
• They became extinct, perhaps around 1000-1200 AD, for reasons that are unclear, although human activity is the suspected cause.
  
  
• These were large flightless birds similar to Ostrich and Kiwi.
  
  
• Elephant birds comprised the genera Mullerornis, Vorombe and Aepyornis.
  
  
• Recently, scientists determined that ‘Vorombe titan’ specie reached weights of 730 kg, making it the world's largest bird, slightly larger than the much older Dromornis stirtoni of Australia, another flightless bird that disappeared from the Earth 20,000 years ago.