Climate Change, Humans, and the Extinction of the Woolly Mammoth
2008
What Killed the Woolly Mammoth?
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): David Nogués-Bravo, Caitlin Sedwick
Hypothesis
Did woolly mammoths die out because their habitat disappeared due to climate change, or were they hunted to extinction by humans?
Conclusion
Woolly mammoths were driven to extinction by climate change and human impacts.
Supporting Evidence
- 90% of the woolly mammoth's former habitat disappeared as the last glaciers retreated.
- The prime habitat shrank from 7.7 million square kilometers to just 0.8 million square kilometers over 36,000 years.
- Humans hunting mammoths likely contributed to their extinction during the Holocene.
Takeaway
Woolly mammoths went extinct because their homes disappeared as the Earth warmed, and humans hunted them.
Methodology
The authors performed quantitative modeling of climatic conditions and aligned it with the fossil record to estimate habitat loss.
Limitations
The study relies on models and estimates, which may not capture all variables affecting mammoth extinction.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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