Thursday, 9 February, 2012

It’s one of the biggest puzzles of paleontology: Why did North America’s large mammals go extinct shortly after the glaciers melted about 15k years ago? New study suggests that hunters get the credit — or blame.

Just after humans reached the Western Hemisphere, many large mammals went extinct. Some scientists have blamed hyper-effective human hunting. But a new study fingers changes in climate and environment.

Giant crocodile relative raises question of why big animals go extinct faster. If an 11-meter croc can’t survive, what about a 2-meter Homo sapien?