The Law of Fang and Claw
Animal life already existed on the
Indian sub-continent. It would be millions of years before the
first ape-men would appear, but before that a vast number of
other mammals and other creatures lived on the rolling
grasslands, which were watered by the mighty, life-giving
rivers. Mammals had existed for a long time, as tiny rat-like
creatures that scurried in the shade of the forests. When the
dinosaurs died out, the mammals took over as the dominant
species on the planet. They now had food in abundance and no
competition from the dinosaurs. So they grew bigger and bigger
-- and different in shape from each other.
On the prehistoric Indo-Gangetic
plains and Deccan plateau, there lived a wide variety of
creatures. The land around modern-day Delhi were dotted with
ancient lakes. Primitive elephants, giant turtles, deer and
rhinos roamed along the shores of these lakes. When they died,
some of them left records for us in clay and stone. Some left
their fossilized bones. Others their foot-prints. From these, we
have a pretty good idea about these creatures. More
significantly, these creatures were the fore-runners of most of
the wild animals that we see today in India.
Today India has one species of
elephant (Elephas maximus). The only other living species
of elephant is the African elephant. However, 7 million years
ago, nearly 15 different species of elephant-like creatures,
lived on the Indian sub-continent. Some were small, boar-sized
creatures called Gomphotheres. They had tusks not only on
their upper jaws, but on their lower jaws as well. Unlike the
elephants of today they had no trunk. Bigger than the
Gomphotheres, were the Mastodons. They stood 10 feet
tall and had long, curving tusks and a good-sized trunk. Then
two million years ago, the most spectacular elephant-ancestor
appeared in the Shivalik mountains. He has been named
Stegodon ganesa. Stegodon's tusks grew so close, that
there was no place to hang his trunk between them. So his trunk
had to hang off to one side.
But, the elephants were not
the biggest creatures at that time. There lived in north India,
a huge, muscular creature that stood 17 feet tall. This was
Baluchiterium, the biggest mammal to have roamed the earth.
It probably weighed as much as four or five modern elephants.
But, despite his fearful appearance, Baluchiterium was a
gentle beast, unless he was provoked. When angered, all he had
to do was to charge at his foe with all his might. Over
thousands of years,
Baluchiterium's
children grew a central horn on their head, and, in time, became
the famous Great Indian rhinoceros.
Living side-by-side with
these large creatures, was a crafty, sly creature, who spent
most of its time running down smaller prey, like deer. With
time, this mammal developed a sleek, muscular body and could run
up to great speeds. This was the Smilodon, a cat with
saber-like teeth, with which it could grip its prey.
Smilodon's offspring
diversified and became the tigers, lions and cheetahs of the
Indian jungles.
Meanwhile, lurking in the waters of
the Ganges, was a close relative of the extinct dinosaurs. The
reptile, Parasuchus, was a fresh-water crocodile. He grew
to lengths of 28 feet and was armed with a snout with 30 curved
teeth. More terrible than Parasuchus, was his cousin
Pristichampus. This 10 foot long crocodile, came out of the
water and hunted mammals on the open plains. All crocodiles can
rapidly in short bursts, but Pristichampus developed
longer than average legs and strong claws for traction. He was a
terror, as he could run down many of the smaller mammals that
lived near the Ganges. Both, Parasuchus and
Pristichampus, developed into India's modern-day crocodiles
and Gangetic Gharials.
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