Author Archives: twilightbeasts

Land of the Giants

Posted on December 18, 2014 by twilightbeasts

There are tales that Giants roamed our lands. Gigantic bones enigmatically poking out of the ground have, until fairly recently, led to some wonderful creations of mythical creatures. With a relatively unexplored world and with only a handful of animals known … Continue reading →

Posted in Deinotherium | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shiva’s beast

Posted on December 16, 2014 by twilightbeasts

A giraffe kissed me (when I was twelve) and I liked it. It was a hot August day in Dublin Zoo, and the beautiful creature simply leaned over the fence and administered a big giraffy sloppy kiss to my face. … Continue reading →

Posted in Sivatherium | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dire times for bone crushing dogs

Posted on December 11, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Dogs. (Hu)man’s best friend. For around 15,000 years, these furry, sensitive canines have been our close companions. All dogs alive today descended from a wolf ancestor into a massive array of variations today; from the laughable but slightly cute Chihuahua, to the unbelievable … Continue reading →

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The most lonely places

Posted on December 4, 2014 by twilightbeasts

“Vouronpatra: A large bird which haunts the Ampatres [marshy places] and lays eggs like the ostrich’s; so that the people of these places may not take it, it seeks the most lonely places.”   The beasts of the Pleistocene cause … Continue reading →

Posted in Elephant Bird | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Buttercup the Mammoth

Posted on November 25, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Woolly Mammoths are the most well-known, and most well-loved, of all Ice Age animals. Their great size along with their long, shaggy hair has hit the ‘cute chord’ in the hearts of many. Humans have a strong emotional connection with elephants … Continue reading →

Posted in Woolly Mammoth | Tagged | 4 Comments

The burrowers

Posted on November 21, 2014 by twilightbeasts

To witness the full majestic sight of the Giant Ground Sloth in all it’s glory, it is best to visit at twilight. For around half an hour after the museum doors open, and then again for around half an hour just before … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Ground Sloth | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Darwin’s 18 pence

Posted on November 13, 2014 by twilightbeasts

South American Pleistocene beasts were super weird. They owe their peculiar evolution to events that happened deep within the very bowels of the planet, hundreds of millions of years ago. Almost all the land that we know today was squashed together … Continue reading →

Posted in Toxodon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The sabretooth salmon

Posted on November 5, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Almost everyone has heard about sabretooth cats, mostly thanks to the incredibly fun Ice Age movie series with the cool cat, Diego. But it wasn’t the only sabre toothed beastie of the Pleistocene. There was of course, the more unfamiliar … Continue reading →

Posted in Sabre tooth salmon | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A unicorn out of the twilight

Posted on October 29, 2014 by twilightbeasts

On 20th October 2014, a northern white rhino died in a zoo. Animals die in zoos all the time but what made this unfortunate death even sadder is that there are now only six individual northern white rhinos left on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elasmotherium | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The pouched lion

Posted on October 10, 2014 by twilightbeasts

Australia is a land stripped of megafauna. The largest surviving kangaroo is a dwarf compared to the elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and hippos of Africa. Similarly, the largest living carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harisii), is a stunted furball when … Continue reading →

Posted in Marsupial Lion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments