The elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century and the reasons for and timings of their extinctions remain unclear. And, now, a giant egg from this bird goes under the hammer at Christie’s in London during a Travel and Science sale on April 24. The elephant birds egg, the heaviest of all known birds is expected to fetch £30,000 ($45,500).
Christie’s scientific specialist James Hyslop poses for photographs with a sub-fossilized pre-17th century Elephant Bird egg
This 30cm high and 21cm wide egg is about 100 times the size of an average chicken’s egg.
This fully intact, fossilized ovum of the long-extinct elephant bird resemble on a giant ostrich. The eggs are known to grew to be around 11-feet high, and were primarily vegetarian animals whose diet comprised mainly of fruits. So, no need to explain the reason this particular egg is worth so much money, and the reason so many people started talking about it online after Christie’s put it up for display.
A chicken egg is displayed next to a sub-fossilised pre-17th century Elephant Bird egg to scale the size difference
This is the best picture of a $45,000 Egg You will ever see
