offshoot of the artiodactyls was the first proto-whale, called the Pakicetus, although it did not look remotely like a whale. It was a furry little dog-sized creature, a carnivore that wandered the swampy coastline of the old Indian subcontinent, near modern-day Pakistan, during the early-to-middle Eocene period, between about 50 to 49 million years ago. The Pakicetus evidently hunted smaller creatures that lived in the swamp, including both fish and land creatures alike. It was a lousy swimmer, with heavy, compact bones that it used for ballast, and it was also not a fast runner. However, it
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Pakicetus protowhale
