“Are Elephants Like Dinosaurs?”

“Mommy, are elephants like dinosaurs?” asked the little boy.
“Well…what do you mean?” questioned his Mommy.

“If the dinosaurs went extinct, then aren’t there some animals that came from what the dinosaurs used to be like?”
“You mean, ‘Are there some animals that are descended from dinosaurs?’ ”
“Yes, I think. What does “descended” mean?”
“It means animals that were born from animals that were born from animals that were originally dinosaurs.”

Theropod “Yes, are elephants descended from dinosaurs, Mommy?”

“Well, people don’t say that elephants are descended from dinosaurs, but there are creatures that you know that people say are descended from dinosaurs. Want a clue?” asked his Mommy.

“Yes, tell me.”

“Well, this is an animal that you might think is fast and can sometimes look like a small dinosaur or like a small dragon. Usually this animal has an interesting skin. The skin could be a puffy material or even more rarely scaly like an alligator. And the animal walks on short legs. This animal also comes in many, many colors.”

He thought for a moment, and said, “Alligators?” Then immediately, “Lizards?!”
“Well, people say that lizards and dinosaurs were not related even though they looked very similar to each other,” said his Mommy.
“Well, but how about an elephant? Elephants are big, they walk with very loud footsteps, and they have that interesting skin you talk about, right? Are elephants like dinosaurs?” he asked again.

“‘They’re not exactly like dinosaurs. How about something smaller?” asked his Mommy.
“But how could something smaller be descendable from dinosaurs?”
“Descended from dinosaurs,” said his Mommy.
“Descended from dinosaurs,” he repeated.
“Well, what dinosaurs do you know?”
“I know the bronotsaurus who is huge and eats only plants, and I know the TRex, who eats animals.”

“What about those theropods that look like the TRex?” asked his Mommy.
“The ones that are big and eat animals?” asked the boy.
“Yes.”
“Ok,” said the boy.
“Imagine those smaller,” said his Mommy.
“Ok,” said the boy.
Theropod

“What do they look like?” asked his Mommy.
“Like small dinosaurs,” said the boy.
“And how would they have moved?”
“Fast, like they didn’t like running, but still like they could run,” said the boy.
“Ok, what else moves fast on the ground?”

Pelican “Well, that’s funny! Dogs can move fast, and birds that aren’t flying can move fast.”
“Ok, so let’s think about birds,” said his Mommy.
“Ok.”
“They’re fast?”
“Yes.”
“They are shaped like small dinosaurs when they stand on the ground?” asked his Mommy.
“Yes.”
“Could birds be descended from dinosaurs?”

“Maybe…” the boy thought for a moment, “but that’s weird.”
“Ok, it’s weird, but could it have happened?” asked his Mommy.
“Yes… a bird is a small dinosaur?”
“I’m not sure that it’s actually a small dinosaur, but it may be descended from a dinosaur!”

“So not elephants… but yes birds?… That’s good: when I see a bird, I can think of a dinosaur,” decided the boy happily.

4 thoughts on ““Are Elephants Like Dinosaurs?”

  1. Some birds truly look like dinosaurs to me. Like great blue herons and (especially) pelicans when they’re flying. Like couldn’t this easily be a pterosaur?
    http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/Photos/Waterfowl/BRPE5.jpg

    When we were in Olympic Natl Park last week, in some of the lushest of places, we kept saying to each other that it felt like we were in a diorama. I almost expected a dinosaur to lope (or fly) into view.

  2. Great story! I like the way the boy’s mom leads him down a path of inquiry, and how he decides that birds will remind him of dinosaurs! It reminds me a bit of one of Richard Feynman’s autobiographies, in which he’s describing how he and his Dad used to walk around, and his Dad taught him how to look at things and think them through.

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