The late megafauna extinction was a great significant global-scale occurrence. Three factors have always received broad consideration when it comes to the primary causes of this extinction. These are climate change, the impacts of asteroids or comets, and finally, human beings. Consequently, the existing arguments remain controversial. Various research efforts have focused on the individual species that became extinct and the geographical regions where these extinctions were mainly observed. This has limited the focus on the hypotheses surrounding the causes of extinction. More than 12,000 years ago, these huge animals lived alongside human beings, however, with the increase in the human population; a great decrease in the number of these animals was observed resulting in their extinction. This research paper, therefore, focuses on the notion that modern man was the primary reason behind the great megafauna extinction.
Ice Age refers to a period that was characterized by very low temperatures that featured a great recurring glacial expansion across the surface of the earth. This period also featured huge animals, most of which the current generation has never seen. This is because they became extinct. The extinction of the animals that lived during the ice age is what is often referred to as ice age extinction. There have been a number of factors behind the extinction of these animals. These include climate change, human activities, and extra-terrestrial factors. The role of humans in the extinction of the megafauna has however received immense support from various studies (Brook & Bowman, 2002). Human activities have always influenced the ecosystem in various ways. Researchers have also pointed out that it is human activities have always caused climate change. Therefore, indirectly and directly, the question of the extinctions of large animals such as the mammoth, and the dinosaur among others that lived during the ice age is highly linked to human factors. This was due to various human activities that include industrial development, encroachment into animal habitats for settlement, agricultural activities, and the killing of animals for different reasons. The peaceful coexistence between humanity and other animals has always been weak. This has led to a great reduction in the numbers of these animals, or even their overall extinction (Grayson & Meltzer, 2003). In Denmark, a team of researchers from Aarhus University concluded that the primary cause of the extinction of the large ice age mammals was due to human activities than it was from the changing climate. In support of this, the team explained their country to a country survey on all the species known to have become extinct between a thousand to 132 000 years ago. During a comparison of the findings, and focusing on the known changes that had occurred in the environment during that period, all fingers were pointed at human beings as the primary cause of the major extinctions. This is because, from the findings, it was clear that the exact causes of the death of these animals were in one way or another linked to humanity (Aarhus University, 2014). About 12000 years ago, when the ice started melting, various large mammals like the giant sloth, mammoth, the cave-dwelling lions among other animals started dying, and eventually disappeared altogether. Because of this, the cause of the deaths was blamed on climate change, which was for sure the primary cause of the ice melting. Serious attention was not given to the hypothesis that humans could have been the main reason for this, not even attempts to dig deep er and provide evidence for such beliefs. In the latest efforts to establish the might-be causes of these deaths, new facts have since come out. From their efforts, the researchers have been able to prove that indeed, humans played a key role in the extinction of these species ( Smith, 2014 ). This is either directly or indirectly. Some of the human activities that cause these extinctions include the following: Pastor & Moen (2004) carried out a country-by-country study, as opposed to the earlier continent-by-continent research, and established that hunting contributed to the ice-age extinctions. Their study focused on the Pleistocene epoch; a species that became extinct during the ice-age period. In their pursuit, a comparison was drawn from the results based on the weather conditions changes that took place during this period in areas where these animals lived. Their findings revealed a correlation between the various human activities that took place during these times, and the large mammal extinctions during the same period (Pastor & Moen, 2004). Hunting and gathering were the lifelines of early man, and therefore their role in the extinction of these large-bodied mammals cannot be overstated. During the ice-age period, man co-existed with the megafauna. However, it is also during the same period that a huge number of these animals became extinct. Further, the extinctions of these specific mammals were more pronounced in Europe and highest in Australia and America. In these areas, about the same period more advanced hunting skills and tools were already in use. In Africa, there were the least extinction cases of extinction of these large mammals since the time humans began hunting. Interestingly, hunting skills were not fully developed in the same period in Africa. Therefore, the small number of extinct species can be attributed to poor hunting skills. These research findings justify that hunting as a human activity was a key reason for the extinction of large mammals. Thus, more extinctions were experienced in America and Australia as opposed to Africa where humans started hunting later and their hunting skills took longer to evolve (Martin, 2005). As human beings increased in number during the ice age period, there was a need to occupy bigger areas of land. Consequently, more settlements were opened up to accommodate the increasing human population. Subsequently, the rate of mega-fauna extinctions increased with the growing human population. Findings from various studies indicate that a strong correlation exists between the high rates of extinction and the corresponding human expansion history. Further, it is evident that more extinctions were recorded in the regions where the contact between these mammals and human beings was more pronounced. According to Aarhus University ( 2014), these animals were confronted by the Homo sapiens, the fully developed human beings. A geographical analysis also showed that humans played a significant role in driving away and eventually causing the extinction of the ice age mammals. In one way or another, humans destroyed the animals’ habitats. The expansion of people corresponded to the need for more settlement areas. This led to the clearance of vegetation, which was also the source of food and shelter for some of these mammals. It is also through the removal of the vegetation that a major change in the climate took place. In some areas, vegetation was burned down so pave the way for more settlement areas. This rendered most of these mammals homeless and subjected them to suffering and exposure to extreme weather conditions, leading to their eventual deaths and extinction. From the se findings, it is clear that as the human population grew, the number of the large mammals residing in these habitats reduced considerably (Grayson, 2006). Ultimately, more extinctions were recorded in the same areas. Research has established that the extinction of megafauna during the last 100, 000 years can be due to competition between these animals and human beings. This was occasioned by the need for vital resources that were required for survival. Key among these were food, water, and shelter. For instance, Aarhus University (2014 ) focussed on the large animals, weighing more than 10kg, that lived 132 000 years ago. The research was also focused on the specific habitats while paying attention to the effects of climate change on these regions. This was also done while taking into consideration the ongoing human activities. The findings indicate that with an increase in the number of humans occupying these areas, there was an enormous reduction in the number of mega-fauna (Ward, 1995). A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that with the increase in human population, the ecosystem became inadequate for megafauna survival. Given the large sizes of these animals, there was a need for heavy feeding and therefore large habitats. Given that some of these animals targeted the same food that was used by humans, the competition was immense, leading to their extinction (Grayson & Meltzer, 2002). In the past, some scientists had suggested that there is a link between the extinction of megafauna and the impacts of comets that left behind some traces on the earth's crust. However, this has been disputed by modern research works. The y cites that if the effects of asteroids caused the extinction of the megafauna, then the heat which resulted from such events would have turned the organic carbons into small pieces of diamond. Researchers have since then tried to locate such pieces but never found any. The missing of these diamonds ruled out the earlier claims that comets and other forms of extra-terrestrial activity caused the extinction of these animals (Burney & Flannery, 2005). In the absence of this theory, the effects of humans on mega-fauna extinction cannot be overstated.
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Conclusion
The correlation between human activities and extinctions cannot be overemphasized. Such activities as hunting are believed to be the primary reason behind the extinction of megafauna. This happened in direct and indirect ways. Hunting was either directly done, killing the animals themselves, or killing the smaller prey that was the food for these animals. Through this competition, gradually, humans cleared the animals’ food source. And with this gone, the animals became unable to sustain themselves, and, finally dying. Various scientists have proved that human beings played an enormous role in the extinction of the ice age animals. The coincidence of this major event with the arrival of people in these regions has been a major point of focus. Research works have also been done in a move to establish what might have been the cause of this occurrence. To a greater percentage, most of the research work directly points fingers at human beings as the major cause of the megafauna extinction. This is because they interfered with the peaceful habitation of these animals, reducing the much-needed resources for survival, and hence leaving them helpless. These findings have also ruled out other earlier claims like climate change and the effects of the asteroids as the key causes of these extinctions. It can, therefore, be concluded that while the other factors might have played a role, they might not have been as significant as that of humans. Therefore, due to the need to survive, human beings remain the key players in the extinction of the ice age megafauna. This notion has also been proven by various research scientists.
References
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