Hey, Friends!
Welcome to the African safari.
I am looking for the largest land mammal in the world.
That is the incredible, magnificent, humongous Elephant!
Oh, look! here it is friends.
Isn't it huge?
Indeed very huge.
But you will be surprised to know that in the prehistoric period..
..some of the species were the size of pigs and cows.
Yes, so today let us explore the giant world of this massive creature...
We call Elephants and learn about their evolution.
Zoom In!
Elephants belongs to the Elephantidae family and to the Proboscidea order.
That includes a diverse group of animals.
Including elephants, hyraxes and sea cows.
The elephant we see today are very huge animals.
That can grow up to 13 feet tall and can weigh up to 13,000 pounds.
But early elephants were very different in their size and their appearance back then..
..compared to what we see of them today.
It all started about 37-35 million years ago.
With a species known as "Moeritherium".
They were heavily built animal and were about 3 feet tall.
The shape of the skull suggests..
That while Moeritherium did not have an elephant-like trunk..
..it may have had a broad, flexible upper lip like a tapir's for grasping aquatic vegetation.
Then came the "Barytherium".
The most important feature that was changed from the Moeirthium would be the small tusks.
That were on the upper and lower jaw.
This was changed because the need to be able to have the shearing action to crop plants.
Then about 26 million years ago came the "Numidotherium".
With much slender body shape and not much changed until then.
However, as the species evolved with time...
The animals grew bigger with longer limbs.
Their skull, teeth, and tusk size increased.
And a movable trunk developed and became the Deinotherium.
It probably resembled modern elephants.
Except it had downward curving tusks attached to the lower jaw.
But the species that is a closest relative to Modern elephants are the Mammoths.
That walked on earth about 1.6million years ago.
The last mammoth species became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
At the end of the last Ice Age.
But It is unclear whether they were driven to extinction by climatic factors..
.. or as a consequence of hunting by early man.
Trivia Time!
Did you know that loss of habitat and poaching for ivory and bushmeat..
.. are great threats to elephant populations?
As of 2013, there has been an estimated 90 percent decline in the Asian elephant population.
and a 75 percent decline in the African elephant population over the last 100 years.
So, my dear friends, we must do everything to protect this nature's massive wonder.
We call Elephant and spread awareness about their condition.
And one great way to contribute towards the betterment of elephants..
..is by sharing this video with our family and friends.
It's question time.
Today's question is: Which family do elephants belong to?
Do write your answer in the comment section below.
And hit the like button to be a part of the Peekaboo family.
And get a chance to get it featured by the end of our videos.
So here are the winners of the previous episode.
Hope you enjoyed today's episode.
And until next time its me Dr. Binocs: Zooming out.
Ah! Never mind.