Why Australia ’s many giant animals became extinct 40,000 years ago remains an unsolved mystery. Australian researchers recently published a paper on the website of the British “Nature Communications” magazine that the most likely cause of the extinction of giant animals is climate change, not human activity.
Previously, the extinction of giant animals was caused by excessive hunting by humans, and it occurred shortly after humans arrived in the Australian mainland. However, the results of this study led by the Queensland Museum in Australia showed that reduced water resources, increased drought, increased fires, and changes in vegetation eventually led to the extinction of at least 13 ancient behemoths such as kangaroos and giant prehistoric kangaroos.
To understand the environment in which megafauna lived 40,000 years ago, researchers conducted more than 10 years of analytical research on the South Walker Creek site in Queensland and the excavated fossils . Researcher Scott Hawkner said that between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago, the South Walker Creek site lived at least 16 species of giant animals, including some species that have not yet been officially documented.
Research shows that these ancient behemoths are still alive when human footprints spread across the Australian continent. But the deterioration of climate and environment made it difficult for Australia’s ancient giant animals to cope.
Hockner believes that this study is of great significance to analyze the impact of the current environment and climate change on existing giant animals.
(Originally titled “New Research Uncovers the Mystery of the Extinction of Australian Giant Animals”)