The Megafauna
Created | Updated Jul 25, 2008
There was a time, not so long ago, when the world was ruled by mammals. Not just one species of mammal that dominated all the rest as it is today, but many species, a multitudinous variety, numerous interlinked communities - a rich abundance. Everywhere on earth you would have seen vast numbers of them from tiny to huge. The biggest mammals rivalled the dinosaurs in their heyday. Those huge mammals, and the communities they formed, are called the megafauna.
The age of mammals started when the dinosaurs became extinct, and lasted up to the emergence of man, at which point all hell broke loose. But days of the megafauna are not past. Their key representatives remain, mainly in Africa and in small refuges on other continents. So let's look at them, as they were before we arrived on the scene, and as they are today.
1. Elephants.
Today they are restricted to Africa and Asia, where they are beleaguered for the sake of their ivory and in immediate danger of extermination. But as little as ten thousand years ago they ranged just about worldwide. The woolly mammoths were merely cold-adapted elephants, and they roamed from Europe through Asia to North America. In the warmer parts of both the Americas the mammoths were not woolly and were basically just elephants, plain and simple. At the same time regular elephants of various shapes and sizes inhabited the whole of Europe, Asia and Africa, in habitats ranging from grasslands to forests. Two other groups related to elephants were also around: the deinotheres and the mastodons. They differed from ordinary elephants in having tusks in their lower jaws. The deinotheres had tusks ONLY in the lower jaws, and they stuck downwards like the blade of a hoe.
2. Rhinoceroses.
These lumbering colossi also ranged from Africa to Europe and Asia. Ancient, hippolike rhinos lived in America, but the modern, horned types never made it there. During the ice ages northern rhinos developed thick coats of wool. There were two-horned woolly rhinos on the tundra and on the steppes there grazed an elephant-sized species that had a single, straight, six-foot-long horn on its forehead. In the forests of Europe there were more ordinary species, from small to big. And of course they were all over Africa and Asia, where they still remain today - just barely.
3. Horses.
There are almost no original wild horses left in the world. In the form of zebras they still have a stronghold in Africa, but many of the remaining wild asses and donkeys face an uncertain future. In the past horses were universal features of the northern grasslands; many kinds were found in America, but all died out; the spaniards brought horses back to the continent, but of course not the original kinds.
4. Tapirs.
Tapirs are related to horses and rhinos. They are large, piglike, have elongated, flexible snouts, and all live in forests. Today they are restricted to central and South America, and southeast Asia - two very widely seperated regions. They used to live in between as well, and beyond, as far as Europe and Africa.
5. Pigs and peccaries
Hogs, swine, boars - whatever you call them, pigs are probably less threatened than most other mammals. But most pigs belong to a single species - the domesticated variety, which has returned to wild living in many places. But there are also many original wild species. In the past there was a much greater variety, including plains-dwelling warthogs the size of rhinos. In the Americas they are replaced by the peccaries, which used to have a range that also included Asia, Europe and Africa.
6. Hippopotami.
Two species remain: a large one and a small one, both in Africa, and not in very large numbers. But large and small ones of numerous species once were found in Europe and Asia, too.
7. Camels.
Llamas are also included. North America had its share of camels, including giant and long-necked variations. In all probability they did not have humps, having lived as they did in quite pleasant environments. They spread from there to Africa and Asia, at which stage some kinds had to invent ways of surviving harsher conditions. But llama-like camels probably once ranged much wider. The surviving camel species owe much to the value they have for humans.
8. Giraffes.
They always were mainly an African group, but did reach Europe and Asia. Today there are only two species: the long-necked well known one and the short-necked, stripe-legged okapi. In their heyday different long- and shortnecked kinds were around, including weird-horned types. The sivatheres where huge, heavy-bodied and oxlike, with multifariously-shaped horns and antlers.
9. Deer.
They count among the few members of the megafauna that still manage to survive in fair numbers in Europe and America. Their numbers are down, but they are versatile and quite a large diversity still remain. There were some wonderful species that did become extinct, though, like the mega-elks that had palm-leaf antlers spreading more than thirteen feet from tip to tip.
10. Cattle, goats, sheep and antelope.
In Africa and Asia this group is still relatively secure. But many of the most impressive types are now extinct. Plains bison used to be found in Asia, and forest bison in America. There were also long-horned bison species. Many species of giant wild cattle were found through Europe, Asia and Africa. They were wiped out to be replaced by the docile domestic kind.
11. Pronghorn antelope.
These replaced old-world antelope in America. A diversity of species with a variety of different, interesting antler shapes used to exist, but only a single kind remains.
12. Big cats.
They came in two varieties: the lithe, speedy, "regular" felines and the bulky, powerful sabertooth cats. The sabertooths have all disappeared and the big cats are in decline. Tigers are in danger of vanishing altogether. Lions used to have an almost world-wide distribution including all of Europe, Asia and North America, even the colder parts.
13. Hyenas.
This poorly known group once were common in Europe and large parts of Asia. There was even a long-legged, speedy, cheetah-like hyena in Africa.
14. Bears.
They are no longer found in Africa, but once ranged down to the southern tip of the continent. In Asia and America bears are fairly secure though some species and populations are in danger. If attitudes change enough, bears could even make a solid comeback to Europe.
15. Dogs.
Included are wolves, foxes and jackals. Thanks to intelligence and versatility many kinds of dog survive, but the wild wolf is still under a lot of pressure from humans.
16. Monkeys and apes.
Most monkeys are small, but there used to be giant baboons up to the size of a gorilla in Africa. Apes are incredibly rare in the fossil record, perhaps because of their forest habitats where few fossils form. At least one giant ape is known from teeth and bits of jaw. These ape used to live in Asia, but some believe they have spread from there and still survive by cunningly eluding capture by humans - some of them are occasionally seen and known by the name Bigfoot! Other surviving types accepted by science include a few kinds of gorilla, two species of chimpanzee and the orangutan. All of them are in danger of disappearing forever.
17. South American and Australian giant mammals.
These poor creatures are mentioned last and least because, sad to say, they are gone and can never return. There were equivalents of large herbivores, and types without parallel such as giant ground-sloths and giant armadillos. They were wiped out in a mammalian holocaust, leaving only relatively small species to survive on those two continents.
The megafauna still flourished in all their glory a mere million years ago. Now their empire has been reduced to a pitiful remnant of what it was. What happened? Two things: first, the ice age; second, us. Why do these types still remain in Africa, more than anywhere else? Consider: Africa is the stablest continent. In hundreds of millions of years neither its position nor its geology have ever changed much. It was never submerged beneath huge seas, it was never bisected completely by mountain ranges, it was never covered by glaciers. Even during the height of the ice age it was still warm here. But the northern countries all felt the ravages of the glaciers. Almost the entire Europe and most of North America were completely buried beneath the thick, grinding white sheets. Mountain ranges protected large parts of Asia from glaciation, which explains its greater biodiversity. And the southern parts of Asia always had a favourable climate. So, while the (geologically speaking) rapid advance and retreat of the glaciers periodically wiped out the faunas of America and Europe, many animals were able to find more peaceful sanctuaries in Africa and Asia.
Furthermore, humans originated in Africa. They started doing the human thing, beginning about three million years ago and progressing very slowly. A million years or so ago they had reached Asia, but were still very primitive. Only during the last twenty to fifty thousand years did people start to use fire, weapons and other tools aggressively on a large scale. In the places where their civilization developed slowly, the animals had time to adapt to their ravages. But when aggressive hunters spread to the colder parts of Europe and Asia, to North and South America, and crossed the sea to reach Australia, the mammals weren't prepared. Humans wielded spears, clubs and axes, set alight swathes of the countryside, dug pits, set traps and hunted in groups. They cut down trees and denuded the landscape, leaving the species that survived the direct killing without food or shelter. This finished off many species that had managed to survive the ice ages. The kinds that disappeared were the larger ones: their populations were smaller, their rates of reproduction lower, they were easier targets. The very largest mammals were safe from all other predators, but had no defenses against humans. The outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. In the places where the greatest overkill occurred, namely North America and Australia, the people soon realised that they had a severe impact on the ecologies on which they themselves depended. They developed customs and beliefs that were clearly aimed at protecting nature and living in harmony with it. Today we are experiencing another period of overkill and ecological destabilization, and we can only hope that the same attitude will come to prevail among modern humans before we lose the last remnants of the past glories of life on earth.
Can the megafauna return to its former splendour? Well, we can't get back the kinds that became extinct. But evolution continues. If we protect the kinds that are still with us, if humans change their attitudes, if we find ways of living alongside the large mammals without danger or fear, if we manage the ecology of the planet for the benefit of ALL its species, then the wounds can heal, systems can stabilize and diversify again. It can be even better than it was in the past. The world can be a place thrilling and beautiful beyond comprehension, it can be filled to the brim with a multiplicity of life even greater than it was before. Whether that will happen or not depends on what we do next. Let's hope for the best, and make it happen!
The age of mammals started when the dinosaurs became extinct, and lasted up to the emergence of man, at which point all hell broke loose. But days of the megafauna are not past. Their key representatives remain, mainly in Africa and in small refuges on other continents. So let's look at them, as they were before we arrived on the scene, and as they are today.
1. Elephants.
Today they are restricted to Africa and Asia, where they are beleaguered for the sake of their ivory and in immediate danger of extermination. But as little as ten thousand years ago they ranged just about worldwide. The woolly mammoths were merely cold-adapted elephants, and they roamed from Europe through Asia to North America. In the warmer parts of both the Americas the mammoths were not woolly and were basically just elephants, plain and simple. At the same time regular elephants of various shapes and sizes inhabited the whole of Europe, Asia and Africa, in habitats ranging from grasslands to forests. Two other groups related to elephants were also around: the deinotheres and the mastodons. They differed from ordinary elephants in having tusks in their lower jaws. The deinotheres had tusks ONLY in the lower jaws, and they stuck downwards like the blade of a hoe.
2. Rhinoceroses.
These lumbering colossi also ranged from Africa to Europe and Asia. Ancient, hippolike rhinos lived in America, but the modern, horned types never made it there. During the ice ages northern rhinos developed thick coats of wool. There were two-horned woolly rhinos on the tundra and on the steppes there grazed an elephant-sized species that had a single, straight, six-foot-long horn on its forehead. In the forests of Europe there were more ordinary species, from small to big. And of course they were all over Africa and Asia, where they still remain today - just barely.
3. Horses.
There are almost no original wild horses left in the world. In the form of zebras they still have a stronghold in Africa, but many of the remaining wild asses and donkeys face an uncertain future. In the past horses were universal features of the northern grasslands; many kinds were found in America, but all died out; the spaniards brought horses back to the continent, but of course not the original kinds.
4. Tapirs.
Tapirs are related to horses and rhinos. They are large, piglike, have elongated, flexible snouts, and all live in forests. Today they are restricted to central and South America, and southeast Asia - two very widely seperated regions. They used to live in between as well, and beyond, as far as Europe and Africa.
5. Pigs and peccaries
Hogs, swine, boars - whatever you call them, pigs are probably less threatened than most other mammals. But most pigs belong to a single species - the domesticated variety, which has returned to wild living in many places. But there are also many original wild species. In the past there was a much greater variety, including plains-dwelling warthogs the size of rhinos. In the Americas they are replaced by the peccaries, which used to have a range that also included Asia, Europe and Africa.
6. Hippopotami.
Two species remain: a large one and a small one, both in Africa, and not in very large numbers. But large and small ones of numerous species once were found in Europe and Asia, too.
7. Camels.
Llamas are also included. North America had its share of camels, including giant and long-necked variations. In all probability they did not have humps, having lived as they did in quite pleasant environments. They spread from there to Africa and Asia, at which stage some kinds had to invent ways of surviving harsher conditions. But llama-like camels probably once ranged much wider. The surviving camel species owe much to the value they have for humans.
8. Giraffes.
They always were mainly an African group, but did reach Europe and Asia. Today there are only two species: the long-necked well known one and the short-necked, stripe-legged okapi. In their heyday different long- and shortnecked kinds were around, including weird-horned types. The sivatheres where huge, heavy-bodied and oxlike, with multifariously-shaped horns and antlers.
9. Deer.
They count among the few members of the megafauna that still manage to survive in fair numbers in Europe and America. Their numbers are down, but they are versatile and quite a large diversity still remain. There were some wonderful species that did become extinct, though, like the mega-elks that had palm-leaf antlers spreading more than thirteen feet from tip to tip.
10. Cattle, goats, sheep and antelope.
In Africa and Asia this group is still relatively secure. But many of the most impressive types are now extinct. Plains bison used to be found in Asia, and forest bison in America. There were also long-horned bison species. Many species of giant wild cattle were found through Europe, Asia and Africa. They were wiped out to be replaced by the docile domestic kind.
11. Pronghorn antelope.
These replaced old-world antelope in America. A diversity of species with a variety of different, interesting antler shapes used to exist, but only a single kind remains.
12. Big cats.
They came in two varieties: the lithe, speedy, "regular" felines and the bulky, powerful sabertooth cats. The sabertooths have all disappeared and the big cats are in decline. Tigers are in danger of vanishing altogether. Lions used to have an almost world-wide distribution including all of Europe, Asia and North America, even the colder parts.
13. Hyenas.
This poorly known group once were common in Europe and large parts of Asia. There was even a long-legged, speedy, cheetah-like hyena in Africa.
14. Bears.
They are no longer found in Africa, but once ranged down to the southern tip of the continent. In Asia and America bears are fairly secure though some species and populations are in danger. If attitudes change enough, bears could even make a solid comeback to Europe.
15. Dogs.
Included are wolves, foxes and jackals. Thanks to intelligence and versatility many kinds of dog survive, but the wild wolf is still under a lot of pressure from humans.
16. Monkeys and apes.
Most monkeys are small, but there used to be giant baboons up to the size of a gorilla in Africa. Apes are incredibly rare in the fossil record, perhaps because of their forest habitats where few fossils form. At least one giant ape is known from teeth and bits of jaw. These ape used to live in Asia, but some believe they have spread from there and still survive by cunningly eluding capture by humans - some of them are occasionally seen and known by the name Bigfoot! Other surviving types accepted by science include a few kinds of gorilla, two species of chimpanzee and the orangutan. All of them are in danger of disappearing forever.
17. South American and Australian giant mammals.
These poor creatures are mentioned last and least because, sad to say, they are gone and can never return. There were equivalents of large herbivores, and types without parallel such as giant ground-sloths and giant armadillos. They were wiped out in a mammalian holocaust, leaving only relatively small species to survive on those two continents.
The megafauna still flourished in all their glory a mere million years ago. Now their empire has been reduced to a pitiful remnant of what it was. What happened? Two things: first, the ice age; second, us. Why do these types still remain in Africa, more than anywhere else? Consider: Africa is the stablest continent. In hundreds of millions of years neither its position nor its geology have ever changed much. It was never submerged beneath huge seas, it was never bisected completely by mountain ranges, it was never covered by glaciers. Even during the height of the ice age it was still warm here. But the northern countries all felt the ravages of the glaciers. Almost the entire Europe and most of North America were completely buried beneath the thick, grinding white sheets. Mountain ranges protected large parts of Asia from glaciation, which explains its greater biodiversity. And the southern parts of Asia always had a favourable climate. So, while the (geologically speaking) rapid advance and retreat of the glaciers periodically wiped out the faunas of America and Europe, many animals were able to find more peaceful sanctuaries in Africa and Asia.
Furthermore, humans originated in Africa. They started doing the human thing, beginning about three million years ago and progressing very slowly. A million years or so ago they had reached Asia, but were still very primitive. Only during the last twenty to fifty thousand years did people start to use fire, weapons and other tools aggressively on a large scale. In the places where their civilization developed slowly, the animals had time to adapt to their ravages. But when aggressive hunters spread to the colder parts of Europe and Asia, to North and South America, and crossed the sea to reach Australia, the mammals weren't prepared. Humans wielded spears, clubs and axes, set alight swathes of the countryside, dug pits, set traps and hunted in groups. They cut down trees and denuded the landscape, leaving the species that survived the direct killing without food or shelter. This finished off many species that had managed to survive the ice ages. The kinds that disappeared were the larger ones: their populations were smaller, their rates of reproduction lower, they were easier targets. The very largest mammals were safe from all other predators, but had no defenses against humans. The outcome of the battle was a foregone conclusion. In the places where the greatest overkill occurred, namely North America and Australia, the people soon realised that they had a severe impact on the ecologies on which they themselves depended. They developed customs and beliefs that were clearly aimed at protecting nature and living in harmony with it. Today we are experiencing another period of overkill and ecological destabilization, and we can only hope that the same attitude will come to prevail among modern humans before we lose the last remnants of the past glories of life on earth.
Can the megafauna return to its former splendour? Well, we can't get back the kinds that became extinct. But evolution continues. If we protect the kinds that are still with us, if humans change their attitudes, if we find ways of living alongside the large mammals without danger or fear, if we manage the ecology of the planet for the benefit of ALL its species, then the wounds can heal, systems can stabilize and diversify again. It can be even better than it was in the past. The world can be a place thrilling and beautiful beyond comprehension, it can be filled to the brim with a multiplicity of life even greater than it was before. Whether that will happen or not depends on what we do next. Let's hope for the best, and make it happen!
