Studies by scientists have shown that more than 160 species of large mammals have become extinct over the last 50,000 years. A recent study of the peculiarities of this extinction revealed that it was not climate change that was to blame, but hunting by both ancient and modern humans, which exceeded all permissible limits.
Large mammals are those with a body weight of more than 45 kilograms. The ancestors of modern man killed such animals with sticks, spears and arrows until they became extinct. Aarhus University in Denmark, after an extensive review of the scientific literature, prepared the results of the study, summarized in more than 300 papers. Their ultimate goal was to ask whether the extinction of megafauna is the result of climate change or is related to human activity.
Over the past 50,000 years, the planet's climate has indeed changed significantly: only the last ice age ended about 15,000 years ago, leading to the mild climate of the current interglacial phase. Such changes in climate and temperature have undoubtedly had a profound effect on the creatures that inhabit the planet and on the environment.
But the authors of the study found that the only category of animals that underwent large-scale extinctions during this time period were large mammals. In previous ice ages, however, there was no such rate of megafaunal extinction, especially in line with climate change. Does this prove that it was not climate that killed megafauna?
Professor of ecology at Aarhus University, Jens-Christian Svenning, explained that there has not been such an extremely selective loss of large mammals in the last 66 million years as there was in the 50,000-year period preceding the present day. Therefore, climate would not have been able to play such a decisive role in the extinction of megafauna. Additional evidence for this hypothesis is the fact that the extinction of megafauna affected not only climatically unstable areas on the planet, but also regions with a fairly flat climate.
The climate has changed several times in the past, and for certain species of animals without such dramatic consequences. The only thing that has changed beyond recognition is the human species. It has colonized every corner of the planet, rising to the top of the food chain.
Archaeological finds show that even primitive hunters knew how to make traps for very large mammals that were an integral part of their diet.
On all continents hunting of such large animals as
giant sloths, mastodons and
mammoths was widespread. Moreover, as soon as man arrived in a new territory, after a while there was a disappearance of large mammals. And more formidable and effective hunters made man "great" cultural and technological achievements.
Because of the long time to sexual maturity, the low reproduction rate of cubs at one time, and the long gestation period, large animals remain particularly vulnerable to overexploitation.
In whatever environments the extinction of megafauna has occurred, it has had profound consequences, as large animals always play a primary role in the ecosystem, influencing nutrient cycling, seed dispersal and vegetation structure. This is why conservation efforts and the relocation of large mammals to their original habitats are so important to maintain biodiversity and ecological balance.