![]() ![]() ![]() The elephants’ skulls were about twice the size of a human’s-with a single hole in the middle where the trunk would have been. And thousands of years later, the Greeks discovered them. Some of their bones ended up in caves, where tribes lived or cooked. Overstressing their own food reserves, early tribes hunted the small elephants to extinction. That is, until man arrived, 11,000 years ago. Once adapted, they did quite well, with no natural predators… These elephants shrunk to survive on less food, and on Sicily got as small as 3 ft tall and 250 pounds. When a population gets stuck on an island, it will often overstress its food reserves and be forced to adapt-something called island rule. Once seas rose again, some were trapped on islands like Sicily. Well, here’s a famous beast that started as a tiny elephant.ĭuring the Pleistocene ice ages, polar ice and continental glaciers held more of Earth’s water, causing sea level to fall.ĭuring low sea-level periods, elephants from Africa walked and swam across a nearly dry Mediterranean to Europe. Credit: Matteo De Stefano/MUSE (CC BY-SA 3.0 ), via Wikimedia Commonsįrom a previous EarthDate, you may remember that some mythological creatures were born when ancient cultures discovered fossils and created stories to explain them. Cyclopes myths were thought to have developed from observation of these skulls. Credit: Cornelis Cort (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.īelow: Skull of Palaeoloxodon falconeri, a now-extinct Pleistocene dwarf elephant from the Mediterranean region. Their tremendous achievement would become the stuff of legends among the next generation, a fine example of what Rocs could achieve were others to emulate the Roc of Fawg.Above: Detail of the Forge of the Cyclopes by Hoorn Holland (1533–1578) from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Wing Riders were using their Rocs to carry logs and boulders to drop into the center of the Federation ranks.Įlven Wing Riders and their Rocs appeared out of the fading sunlight west bearing Wren and Padishar and the others who had fought at the Valley of Rhenn, and it time for the explanations to begin again. The Rocs had carried the Home Guard in the giant baskets, keeping well back within the shelter of the trees and mountains where they could not be seen from the plains, and Wren had ridden with Tiger Ty. The Wing Riders had tethered their Rocs apart from the horses, and the men had stretched canvas sheets between trees to keep themselves and their stores dry. The day was clouded and gray, and the Rocs would fly unseen against the dark backdrop of the Westland mountains and forest. The Rocs were already winging south again, and Tiger Ty had turned Spirit to follow. The Rocs swept down on those who tried to smother the flames early, driving them away. Wings extended, the Rocs skimmed the watch fires, choosing those that were close to dying, and snatched up bunches of the burning embers with their hardened claws.Īway flew the Rocs, wheeling right and left toward the siege machines. ![]() The Rocs rose again, Wren still riding behind Tiger Ty, and swept wide in an arc that carried them out and away.Įleven strong, the Rocs hurtled into the Federation camp, streaking toward the watch fires. She was still not used to riding the giant Rocs, though she had done so several times now since her return.Įrring Rift gave a low whistle, and one by one the Rocs rose skyward, claws fastened to straps that held the baskets at four corners, lifting them gently, carefully away from the earth, carrying them up through the trees and into the darkened skies. ![]() Now she remembered that rocs liked rocky things, such as rock candy, rock music, and rock gardens. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |