Forever Gone: Elephant Bird

[20firebird]

just because we think there all gone doesnt mean they really are.

*my wierd mysterious future-seeing knowing-something-you-dont-eye­­s*

[cartoonie100]

@moosecow417 i noticed that too

[cartoonie100]

have u uploaded the the dodo one yet?

[TroyBoy2233]

I hate colonial people why did they have to kill some of the most unique species on earth. It would be so awesome to ride one

[WhiteRoarBlack]

@TroyBoy2233 ...Try taming one of them, see what happens.

[barron8006]

It wasn't our 'culture', it was technology. The Mori bird in NZ was killed by the Maori natives shortly after they landed. Don't always believe the "noble savage" theme, also a product of our 'culture'.

[AdamHintz]

@barron8006 I don't believe the noble savage theme. I suggest you don't jump to conclusions.

[THESLICKNESSEDM]

wish they were around still we could ride them like horses

[Python199]

@THESLICKNESSEDM like the the show avater the last airbander:D

[tgrosvenor]

Could you contact me... I am a big elephant bird fan.... I was also born in Madagascar.

[dltanner99]

Cryptozoology novel about two boys who find something strange on the beach one night see video book trailer

[ltcj511]

:(

[canadianrandomness]

In scribblenauts they can fly and I named him bob ^.^

[somnomagh]

Wow, I had this book growing up and loved it. I hope they can resurrect these birds one day....

[VanAy02]

elephant birds are from the family of ratites(ostrich also belong do this family)..they are flightless birds..

[toyjay1]

could they fly?

[AdamHintz]

@toyjay1 I don't believe so. Too big, like ostriches.

[dagt22]

@toyjay1 no

[ilovekevinjonas28]

NOOOOO!!!!!!!CURSE YOU PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE KILLING ANIMALS IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:'(!!I really wanted to see one...

[benrw]

What music is this in the background? I like it. Melancholic--very appropriate for the story of this bird.

[vinnyz3]

in school, a professional came to tell all about this animal and others that are almost extinct. this happened today.

and we learned that scientists had a house cat give birth to six 100% cub cheetahs. They implanted cheetah eggs in a female house cat, and impregnated it with cheetah sperm. thats awesome! but they cant live in wild.

[compileme14]

cant they just get the dna and freaking clone them, in my opinion with such technology cantt we develop some kind of animal species reviver?

[cartoonie100]

when is the dodo video coming out

[erving25]

Never knew there was a bird larger then the giant moa, but you "egg heads" should be happy to know that scientist have extracted DNA from the elephant bird. Hopefully they'll clone it, but that's highly unlikely seeing how some find it "unethical".

[MrFloppymonster]

I don't understand how people would find that unethical if we do clone the elephant bird we will be fixing a mistake that we made

[vinnyz3]

@MrFloppymonster you cant clone something thats dead, you can only clone it by splitting a sperm cell into two, im pretty sure fossil dont produce sperm.

[benrw]

@vinnyz3 Maybe some day we'll be able to get enough DNA info to try it.

[vinnyz3]

@MrFloppymonster but it would be good if we could bring them back somehow.

[TheFantasticCorndog]

Duh, haven't you ever read jurassic park

[erving25]

@TheFantasticCorndog what are the chances of giant birds killing tons of humans ass hole?

[TheFantasticCorndog]

Duh, haven't you ever seen Birds

[SuperBirdgirl]

humans are evil. they need to stop breeding

[AdamHintz]

Humans lived with the Elephant Bird quite well. It was when our culture came to the island it when things when wrong. This distinction needs to be made to really put into perspective what really kill the Elephant Bird. Not people, culture.

[benrw]

@SuperBirdgirl I think we just need to recognize the wonderful species we find and find ways not to destroy them. Species die out, but WE have a choice... we supposedly are civilized beings... we have to act as such. I don't think this would have happened today... maybe they could have lived in zoos, but that's no excuse to be irresponsible and wipe out these amazing creatures. Human beings have a choice. They don't.

[Bardock772]

@SuperBirdgirl Holy shit, I 100% agree with you!

[SuperBirdgirl]

@Bardock772 wow! i'm glad someone does :)

[tecramos]

that's sad how they got extinct

[IronDr4gon]

I wonder if it's possible for a scientist to bring back an elephant bird from the dead. I'd be loving to see that. Also the very first life on earth (few billions years old) & the dinosuars to be brought back alive

[bisexualbuffthug]

Mankind needs to leave the order of nature alone!!! It is because mankind invaded that island elephant birds are now gone.

[GAYPRIDE1985]

actually i believe the giant moa of new zealand was the biggest bird to ever live....

[AdamHintz]

hmmm. I'll have to look into that.

[ciaranmcnamee]

@AdamHintz Very nice video, thanks for posting it. As far as I'm aware the elephant bird was the bigger (heavier) of the two, though perhaps the giant Moa was taller. Some of the Dromornithidae from Australia were about the same size as elephant birds, they went extinct much earlier, also almost certainly due to humans.

[ojideagu]

@AdamHintz Nobody has proven which was larger, but they were both similar sized

[vinnyz3]

@GAYPRIDE1985 no, your actually wrong.

[benrw]

@GAYPRIDE1985 It's not completely clear. The moa was supposedly 3.6 meters, but there is still debate. Maybe we'll find out some day.

[moosecow417]

@GAYPRIDE1985 The giant moa is the tallest bird ever discovered, but the elephant bird was much, much heavier.

[moosecow417]

@GAYPRIDE1985 The giant moa is the tallest bird ever discovered, but the elephant bird was much, much heavier.

Also, from 2:16 to 2:26 that's actually a replica of a moa skeleton, not an elephant bird.

[AstrexRabbits]

Wonderful video, and narrative, of the Elephant Bird. I'm wondering is it's closest living relative is the Ostrich? As Ostriches and Emus (which I've had for years) or Ratites (large fightless birds) as are the Reah and Cassowary (another BIG and RARE bird).

I'm a big beilever in private captive breeding programs to save rare and endangered species (bird / mammal, etc) and return some animals to the wild.

Losing the Elephant Bird /Dodo have always made me cry. We should still have them.

[drukien]

i diden´t know of this bird before i saw a "reminding shrine" at a zoo in my town.

i nearly cried when i heard it were gone. i wish they still were here so i could watch them by my own eye´s

[IronDr4gon]

I love seeing that aswell but the last one died about 10,000years agoy. There're loads of interesting prehistorc birds to look at: Gastornis (appeared 10million year after dino extinction), Gigantoraptor (lived same time as dino. possibly an ancestor of birds)

[contraelgobierno]

vexing.

[zzz33333]

that's the shit from 10,000 BC which is not a terrible movie.

cool video, man.

[Chriskct]

I never seen that bird before. Thanks for showing us.

[desertblbuesman]

fantastic. Great video and information . Thank you Adam!.

[REXMARX003]

Interesting. I have been checking out this site for educational items academicearth dot Organization. You may find it interesting.

[silverfoxcondor46]

informative,cogent,concise,ele­gant.

[ItsFilthy]

fucking sad.

thanks for passing along their story.

[fckuvrymch]

thank you for sharing this, adam.

[adramatictheme]

incredible. awesome video.

I'll miss you, elephant bird!!