The Roc, or Rukh; is a gargantuan avian from Middle Eastern Legends.
In describing his travels to China in the 13thcentury, Marco Polo eluded to a bird of impossible size that attacked animals few humans could imagine a bird targeting. It looked like an ostrich, stood over 9 ft. tall and weighed almost 1,000 lbs. The now-extinct elephant bird of Madagascar was one of the biggest birds in all of natural history.
And it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats him at leisure.The scientific culture of the 19th century introduced some "scientific" rationalizations for the myth's origins, by suggesting that the origin of the Another possible origin of the myth is accounts of eggs of another extinct Malagasy bird, the enormous Another rationalizing theory is that the existence of rocs was postulated from the sight of the African Through the 16th century the existence of the roc could be accepted by Europeans. Its egg was 150 times the size of a chicken egg. ... From "Lion King" to "Scooby-Doo," here's how some of the most iconic animated characters compare to their real-life animal counterparts. Many readers will doubtless recall the adventures of Sin bad the Sailor of Arabian Nights fame, who was carried away by a huge bird called a roc. It was for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of enormous size; so big in fact that its quills were twelve paces long and thick in proportion. Roc's egg, like mare's nest, means some prodigious or marvelous thing existing only in the imagination. The Roc is an enormous legendary bird of prey in the popular mythology of the Middle East. I have been fascinated by our natural world and am here to share that wonder with you. The moas, which became extinct in New Zealand about the time Captain James Cook visited those islands in 1769, are the largest real birds known to science.
So, was the Roc a real bird?
The Roc had a real-life counterpart. It was said to being capable of carrying& hunting the largest prey animals, such as full grown elephants. In his own words, Marco Polo described the roc in the following terms: “It was for all the world … Variously called rocs, elephant birds, or giant birds, they were probably somewhat larger than ostriches, but the most remarkable thing about them was the size of their eggs.Almost complete shells of these eggs have been discovered, and some of them will hold over 2 gallons.Hi, I am Elise McDonald, a wildlife blogger, and author. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
It was described to be a colossal eagle or hawk-like Bird of Prey.
The story collection One Thousand and One Nights includes tales of Abd al-Rahman and Sinbad the Sailor, both of which include the Roc.
Although the roc first appeared in the writings and stories of Eastern civilizations, it was Italian explorer Marco Polo who is credited with spreading the myth of the roc. mythical bird best known for its ability to pick up and feed on baby elephants
The Roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors' folklore. The existence of such a bird was also supported by Marco Polo, who wrote of a legend of the natives of Madagascar.According to this story, birds of tremendous size had been seen to seize elephants in their claws, carry them, struggling, to great heights and drop them, then settle on the carcasses and eat their fill.
Like the Thunderbird of Indian legend, the roe was also said to prey upon human beings and domesticated animals.These birds, however, could not have flown away with a field mouse, much less an elephant, for they could not fly at all. Puk the borb is a real-life angry bird. However, there is a theory that the myth was inspired by sightings of the extinct elephant bird of …
Ibn Battuta tells of a mountain hovering in the air over the China Seas, which was the Roc. The Roc appears in Arabic geographies and natural history, popularized in Arabian fairy tales and sailors' folklore. In 1604, The rukh is also identified in the Ethiopian holy book Wittkower noted the identification of the roc and Garuda made in Kalipadra Mitra, "The bird and serpent myth", An engraving after Stradanus is reproduced in Wittkower 1938:fig 33c.De Bry's engraving is reproduced in Attenborough (1961: 35)
There is no evidence that enormous birds of this type ever existed, but skeletons and eggshells of a large extinct species have been found in Madagascar, which may have given rise to the story of the roc.
I've been working with the National Wildlife Federation for the past five years. Obviously, no flying bird in real life approaches the size of the mythical Roc.