More at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com | Natural History
Sivatherium
Let’s start with prehistory. The fi rst signifi cant mammal that we know
about was a giant and, perhaps, the largest ruminant mammal that
ever existed on earth – the enormous giraffi d aptly called Lord Siva’s
beast – Sivatherium! This three metere-tall animal roamed the Indian
subcontinent in the late Pleistocene and seems to have been around
when rock painters immortalised them some 8,000 years ago. It is otherwise
known only from fossil records. It was an okapi-like animal Okapia johnstoni, but
much larger. It perhaps lost its place in the world due to a combination of natural
factors and increased predation. Such a huge animal may well have been without
natural enemies – much like the elephant birds of Madagascar. The emergence of
two skilled hunters may have changed that – tool-wielding humans and the arrival of
Panthera tigris or the tiger in India approximately 12,000 years ago.
Scientifi c name: Sivatherium giganteum
Range: Known from Upper Siwalik and Karewa Formation fossil records.
Also from Central Indian rock paintings
Conservation status: Extinct
Extinction date: Estimated 6,000 BCE
Cause of extinction: Possibly natural changes and mounting predation
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ell have been without
car. The emergence of
humans and the arrival of
ears ago.osssisil rerecords.g predationIndian Aurochs or Narbada ox,
Considered to be the source of zebu
cattle, our domestic cattle breed, it is a
subspecies of Bos primigenius (Aurochs), which is
also extinct.
This species roamed across large parts of
the Indian subcontinent for a couple of million
years until it was domesticated by humans
around 4,000 years ago. Celebrated by
ancient artists on the walls of the Bhimbetka
rock shelters, this animal was, likely, driven to extinction by
a combination of hunting, habitat loss and interbreeding with
domesticated cattle.
Scientifi c name: Bos primigenius namadicus
Range: Across the Indian subcontinent
Conservation status: Extinct
Extinction date: Estimated 2,000 BCE
Cause of extinction: Domestication, hunting, habitat loss and interbreeding with
domesticated cattle
*The fi rst two illustrations are the author’s impression/creation in the absence of any available specimen.