Ever wished you could ride a giant bird as a form of transportation ala the Final Fantasy series. Well, if you lived during the 17th to early 18th century you could have.
During this time, a bird commonly referred to as the "elephant bird" made its home in new zealand. These elephant birds, or aepyornis maximus were large vegetarian birds, the smallest of which ever found was 10 ft tall. Unfortunatley for the elephant bird, they were not only hunted to extinction by the Malagasy but starved to death due to brush fires on their natural food sources.
Marco Polo, famous sailor from the 13th century wrote:
The people of the island report that at a certain season of the year, an extraordinary kind of bird, that they call a rukh [roc], makes its appearance from the southern region. In form it is said to resemble the eagle, but it is incomparably greater in size, being so large and strong as to seize an elephant with its talons, and to lift it into the air, whence it lets it fall to the ground, in order that when dead it may prey upon the carcass. Persons who have seen this bird assert that when the wings are spread7 they measure sixteen paces in extent, from point to point, and that the feathers are eight paces in length, and thick in proportion.
These accounts, however, bring doubt unto Marco Polo describing the actual Aepyornis, due to the roc's ability of flight and relation to actual elephants. Historians and archeologists, instead think the Roc as a extinct giant bird of prey that hunted the dwarf hippo that used to live on new zealand, before it too was hunted to extinction. I say hippo, because contrary to Marco Polo's statement, there never were any elephants in new zealand - but there were hippos, a creature similar enough for error.
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i see you also eat them 
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