HOBBIT UPDATE

For years, bioarcheologists speculated that Homo Floresiensis or "Hobbits" owe their tiny 60" stature to island minisculism, the theory that living on an island with limited resources causes species to breed down in size. However, shocking new evidence suggests otherwise.

Explorers on the remote Indonesian island of Flores, home of the dwarflike Hobbits and their possible descendants, the Ebu Gogo, have discovered the fossilized skeletons of giant rats. The largest of these weighed in at a hefty 11 lbs and were the size of dogs.

Burn and scrape marks on the 45,000 year old rat bones suggest that Flores Hobbits ate the rats, who roamed the island for thousands of years before going extinct.

Or did they?

You be the judge,

LSP

Are Flores Hobbits Ebu Gogo?

In 2003, stunned archeologists discovered tiny humanlike skeletons in a cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia. Could these dwarf relatives of modern humans be the ancestors of the island's mysterious race of jungle dwelling pygmies, the Ebu Gogo?

Named Homo Floresiensis or "Hobbits," the Flores skeletons reveal a small race of hominin that stood around 3 feet tall and had a brain the size of a grapefruit. Initially dated between 100,000-12,000 years ago, paleoarcheologists speculated that the pint sized creatures may have interacted with Homo Sapiens and could even exist today.

Rumors of a pygmy race of living in the impenetrable jungles of Flores have persisted for centuries. Called Ebu Gogo, whose name means "grandmother who eats everything," these strange creatures are reported to steal food, kidnap children and even mimic human speech. At 60" tall, they're also good candidates to be the Hobbits' descendants.

However, new dating suggests the Hobbits left their cave far earlier than previously thought, 50,000 years ago. This, say experts, makes it unlikely for the height-challenged beings to exist today.

"Sorry, cryptozoologists -- 'Little Foot' and 'Hobbits' are very unlikely to have persisted from 50,000 years ago to today," says science communicator Kristina Killgrove.

Have the little people we know as Hobbits died out or do some still live among us today? You, the reader, be the judge.

Hail to the Chief,

LSP