This sounds pretty similar to how we deal with dinosaurs today. We know that they had feathers, but most people just don't want to stray that far from the image

This sounds pretty similar to how we deal with dinosaurs today. We know that they had feathers, but most people just don't want to stray that far from the image they grew up with. Maybe to these people, elephants with snake-like trunks seemed as silly and unappealing as a T. Rex covered in colorful feathers.