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They originated in South America about 35 million years ago. And they were big. And their common ancestors in all flocks were between about 150 and 770 pounds, or similar to the ranges seen among black bears today. And they walked on the ground. And the earliest flocks were already in good position to shift the world's climate and ecological changes. So the uplift of the Andes Mountains in South America led to changes on the continent and man-ore open, drier grasslands spread around. And they were there in previously winter woodlands and forests. Just drop it. Some of the flocks became smaller. They spent more time around, let's say, trees and grasslands. Or trees and grasslands were the biggest of the flock species. And the grassland flocks were the ones that belonged to these huge elephant-sized animals. And Earth has been shifting between warmer and wetter times. Like now, it always has been. But now is different. Now is different. And the cooler and drier climates over millions of years. So we're shifting between warmer and wetter times and cooler and drier crimes that happened over millions of years. The chillier, more arid times are what gave flocks their enhancement size. Indoor and epic older times. These bear flocks were able to hold on to their body heat, so they also didn't need as much water. They were capable of traveling long distances, efficiently due to their size. The cooler and drier climates, especially after 11.6 million years ago, led to these huge, huge expanses of grasslands. And they tend to favor the evolution of increasing body mass. And this is an archaeology that was in her report. The combination of climate shifts, mountain uplifts, and vegetation changes created an environment where flocks could evolve into a huge number of forms, including multiple times when flocks became giant. So they didn't just become giants at one point. That happened over time and time again. And at a certain point, these mega herbivores, they got so large that most predators can't touch them. They're able to access nutrition and food that other animals can't digest. And this is due largely to microbes. They're cut microbes that help them digest cellulose. And being large means you're also mobile. And there are advantages that have repeatedly pushed animals to get that bait over and over again. The same advantages gave rise to the species as well as more recent giant-like flocks and mastodons. And large flocks, they can travel further. And little grassland habitats stretch from Central America to a prehistoric Florida. And a lot of the fall, they're favored habitats between their continents. And the world were to shift back towards cooler and drier conditions. And they're going to be able to get back to the surface of the world. And they're going to be able to get back to the surface of the world. And they're going to be able to get back to the surface of the world. And as they get back towards cooler and drier conditions that help the spread of the grassland that gave flocks their size, similar giants could likely evolve. The problem is that humans are what we're doing to the Earth's climate, ecosystems, and existing species. The diversity in number of large species, why today, is vastly and often negatively affected by humans. The 2019 study of human influences on 262 megaflauda species on land and in the water. And they found that 70% are diminishing in numbers and 59% are getting close to extinction. But if that relationship were to change, either to our actions or intention, studies like the new paper on giant flocks suggest that ecosystems brimming with these megaflaudal species could happen again. In the animals, they change their habitat, which in turn tends to support more large species that adapt to those environments. The giant flocks that evolved in those grasslands help keep those open spaces open along with other huge herbivores like mastodon's resident, as well as some of the larger carnivores that preyed on them. And very, very ecologists know that from studies on how large animals like giraffes and rhinos affect vegetation around them, they've heard of herbivores and keep habitats open and open. Elephants, good example. Just dropping.