Can you imagine how strong an egg must be to travel thousands of kilometres across the ocean?
Scientists believe an egg which is more than 2000 years old did exactly that. The egg floated to Australia across the Indian Ocean from Madagascar, which is 7007kms west of Perth.
It’s believed the egg travelled across the open sea carried by the currents and winds. The egg was preserved and fossilised after rapid burial in the beach dunes on arrival.
The egg in question was laid by a Madagascan elephant bird, an ostrich-like creature weighing up to half a tonne, which became extinct around 400 years ago.
Two intact elephant bird eggs have been found in WA, buried in coastal dunes. The first was discovered in 1930 at Scott River 300kms south of Perth. The second one is 31.7cm in length and was found in Cervantes by three primary school-aged children in 1992. The latter is now owned by the WA Museum and its story is on display in the Tianqi Lithium Connections gallery at Boola Bardip.
The Aepyornis maximus or Madagascan elephant bird is thought to have stood more than three metres tall. By comparison, the tallest bird in the modern world is an ostrich which can grow up to 2.8 metres tall, while an emu stands just under two metres.
WA Museum has a replica of the egg and is developing a kit to dig deeper into its story. Don’t you think it’s an eggcellent story?
A replica of the egg.
