Some animals are just cute the way they are now, i.e. small and cuddly. But what if, they weren’t? Case-in-point: penguins. And if you think Emperor Penguin, which can grow to a height of 48 inches (122 centimeters), already failed to qualify for the “small and cuddly” accolade, then just imagine a penguin that was about 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall(!). That doesn’t sound even remotely cute anymore, does it?
In fact, I’d say it could even be intimidating at that size. Anywho, that was what fossilized leg bones of a penguin found in North Canterbury seems to suggest. Yes. You heard that right, folks. Human-sized penguins once roamed the land and apparently, these monster penguins were possible because, ocean-dwelling large marine predators disappeared. And you know how it went. No natural predators means it afforded evolution to proceed unchecked. By ‘proceed’, we do mean growing to an imaginable proportion. That was 30 million years ago.
I know right? It sounds absolutely bizarre. Out-of-this-world, even. Though I have add, how most people would react this giant penguin discovery is largely stemmed from the fact that we already accustomed to their small stature. I am sure if these human-sized penguin survived to this day, it will be just another large mammal like a giraffe or something. I am sure you know what I mean. You can dig into the full report by BBC News HERE, or hit up Canterbury Museum official release HERE and publication HERE.
Image: Canterbury Museum.
Source: Neatorama.
