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.
