Elephants and their forebears were pushed into wipeout by waves of extreme global environmental change, rather than overhunting by early humans, according to new research. The study, published today (July 1, 2021) in Nature Ecology & Evolution, challenges claims that early human hunters slaughtered prehistoric elephants, mammoths, and mastodonts to extinction over millennia. Only 700,000 years ago, England was home to three types of elephants: two giant species of mammoths and the equally prodigious straight-tusked elephant. Such coexistence of giant herbivores was unlike anything in today’s ecosystems.”Dr. Zhang added: “The aim of the game in this boom period of proboscidean evolution was ‘adapt or die’. In our scenario, modern humans settled on each landmass after proboscidean extinction risk had already escalated.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 02, 2021 01:20 UTC