Daily Dose of Prehistory: Back From Extinction 107

Leptoptilos robustus, meaning "Robust Slender Soft Feather", was a giant extinct species of Marabou stork that lived on the island of Flores in present-day Indonesia during the Pleistocene epoch. In appearance, they resembled their living relatives albeit much larger, standing around 6 feet tall and weighing up to 36 pounds. Thanks to their thick, dense bones, the Giant Marabou stork would've been flightless. It sat comfortably at the top of the food chain, competing with Komodo Dragons and Homo floresiensis for food. Horrifyingly, the stork would've preyed on our diminutive relatives as it was nearly twice their height; a bird hunting men of any size is a scary thought. However, it went extinct some 13000 years ago likely by hunting by full-sized Homo sapiens, effectively turning the tables.

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