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Étienne de Flacourt (1607–1660) was the first French colonial governor of Madagascar, and he had heard rumors of the existence of the bird, one of which included the name "vorompatra", an old Madagascan name for "bird of the Ampatres"<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=z7RIAkGw0-UC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=ampatres&source=bl&ots=0X8ZImYrM1&sig=_k-uMLypRSCfS3DUvtHh6a1nNuo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjItvnA3-nRAhXl7oMKHdlbDwAQ6AEIUTAM#v=onepage&q=ampatres&f=false</ref>.  The Ampatres are today's Androy region of southern Madagascar, and it was speculated that a smaller species of elephant bird may have lived there until the early 17th century.

Étienne de Flacourt (1607–1660) was the first French colonial governor of Madagascar, and he had heard rumors of the existence of the bird, one of which included the name "vorompatra", an old Madagascan name for "bird of the Ampatres"<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=z7RIAkGw0-UC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=ampatres&source=bl&ots=0X8ZImYrM1&sig=_k-uMLypRSCfS3DUvtHh6a1nNuo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjItvnA3-nRAhXl7oMKHdlbDwAQ6AEIUTAM#v=onepage&q=ampatres&f=false</ref>.  The Ampatres are today's Androy region of southern Madagascar, and it was speculated that a smaller species of elephant bird may have lived there until the early 17th century.

Man's settlement on Madagascar began as early as 350 BC, and speculate that hunting or introduced diseases slowly killed off the elephant birds.  But since very few skeletal remains showed signs of butchery, it was speculated that an early tribal taboo against killing the birds was in effect; this taboo did not apply to the eggs, however.  Egg shell fragments are found in abundance at sites of early human habitations, and the theory was that the easily-retrieved eggs - of which one could feed a family - slowly led to the extinction of the birds<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/8211536/David-Attenborough-and-the-mystery-of-the-elephant-bird.html</ref>, leaving one species left to be described by de Flacourt before it too disappeared.

Man's settlement on Madagascar began as early as 350 BC, and speculate that hunting or introduced diseases slowly killed off the elephant birds.  But since very few skeletal remains showed signs of butchery, it was speculated that an early tribal taboo against killing the birds was in effect; this taboo did not apply to the eggs, however.  Egg shell fragments are found in abundance at sites of early human habitations, and the theory was that the easily retrieved eggs - of which one could feed a family - slowly led to the extinction of the birds<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/8211536/David-Attenborough-and-the-mystery-of-the-elephant-bird.html</ref>, leaving one species left to be described by de Flacourt before it too disappeared.

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