The Late Pleistocene Megafauna: Huge Animals that Used to Roam the Earth

Abstract

Not so long ago, huge mammals weighing more than 1,000 kg existed practically all over the world. We call these giants the Pleistocene megafauna because they lived in a time period called the Pleistocene and were almost completely extinct around 11,700 years ago. These mammals lived on Earth for millions of years and were very important to almost all land-based ecosystems. However, natural climate change and humans decreased their ability to survive. Today, we find fossils of Pleistocene megafauna all over the world, including bones, hair, droppings, and even footprints. Scientists dig for these fossils to learn more about these animals and why they went extinct. Studying these ancient animals also gives scientists important information that helps them understand the risks that today’s living animals face in our world.