Shivalik Hills, a home to pre-historic fossils

Not many may know that wild animals like giraffe and hippopotamus, whose present natural habitat is Africa, were natives of Shivalik Hills long ago. Pre-historic fossils, recently discovered, establish this.

Shivalik Hills today attract both explorers and tourists.

The Shivaliks, also known as the sub-Himalaya or the foothills, run in a continuous belt from Jammu, through the Kangra Valley and then on through the Sirmaur District to Dehradun and further on the Bhabbar tracts of Garhwal and Kumaon.

Consisting of about 6,000 meters of layered rocks, some as old as 25 million years, these hills contain one of the world's richest collections of mammalian fossils.

A group of students on an expedition to Shivalik Hills recently chanced to locate the relics. Students were overwhelmed to learn that the Shivalik Hills were having about 6,000 meters of layered sequence of rocks.

The oldest rocks, formed about 25 million years ago, are actually Himalayas' outer mountains. And, they occupy an important place in the evolution of man.

Geologist Arun Ahluwalia, accompanying the students, found that most of the mammals in this region became extinct during the ice-age of the Pleistocene, about two million years ago. Those that survived migrated to other areas. The remains of the extinct mammals became fossils in the rock formations in Shivalik.

Ahluwalia said: "In the rocks of Dakshina you have micro rocks which are typical of the estrone system. Every rock has an index of its environment. All the animals have a typical habitat. These are typical marine fossils".

The place also has a dinosaur fossil egg discovered by Paleontologist Ashu Khosla from the Shivaliks.

Worldwide attention was focused on the Shivalik Hills when a large number of fossils of Sauropods, turtles, crocodiles were found by geologists of Punjab University.

The Shivaliks are a treasure trove for the world's richest collection of mammalian fossil wood and rocks, helping to solve the mysteries of evolution of prehistoric life. Marine fossils abound in the Himalayas, since the Himalayas were once under the sea. But, excavation of dinosaur fossils made Shivalik a treasure trove.

Chandigarh's Government Museum and Art Gallery provides all information related to dinosaurs. Beside models and fiber-glass replicas, actual fossils from the personal collection of top Paleontologists are on display. (ANI)

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