A team of scientists has unearthed eight colossal Ice Age creatures that vanished from Earth during a mysterious mass extinction approximately 12,900 years ago in what is now Southern California, USA.
Following this mass extinction, Southern California became uninhabitable for a thousand years, as revealed by the absence of fossil records.
In a recent study published in the journal Science, biologist F. Robin O’Keefe from Marshall University (USA) and colleagues reported the recovery of fossils from eight Ice Age monsters from the La Brea Tar Pits, a renowned paleontological site in California.
“La Brea Tar Pits” in California, USA, home to numerous ancient monster fossils – (Photo: LIVE SCIENCE).
These creatures include the American lion (Panthera atrox), the ancient bison (Bison antiquus), the coyote (Canis latrans), the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus), Harlan’s ground sloth (Paramylodon harlani), the saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis), the Western horse (Equus occidentalis), and the “yesterday’s camel” (Camelops hesternus).
The fossils date back approximately 15,600 to 10,000 years, with the 10,000-year-old specimen being the coyote, while the other seven species disappeared around 12,900 years ago.
These findings were compared with pollen data from Lake Elsinore, southeast of Los Angeles, helping scientists reconstruct the ancient environment of the area, which boasted diverse flora and fauna.
Models also indicate that the human population expanded rapidly in the region around 13,200 years ago.
Approximately 13,500 years ago, the accumulation of peat in the area surged, alongside human-created firewood that may have started sporadic wildfires.
“We do not know if this was initiated by campfires or if they actually set fires to drive game away,” Dr. O’Keefe suggested, implying a deliberate action to flush animals, possibly for territory or hunting purposes.
By 12,900 years ago, except for the relatively small coyote, all remaining giant creatures had disappeared in a mass extinction.
This event was a catastrophe resulting from a combination of post-Ice Age climate change. Warming temperatures and prolonged drought led to dry vegetation, the disappearance of moist forest environments, and the dominance of arid shrublands.
Coupled with the layer of accumulated peat and human activity, a major wildfire disaster could have severe consequences, rendering the entire region a dead zone for all species for the subsequent 1,000 years.
“We see profound similarities between the situation we face today and the mass extinction that occurred nearly 13,000 years ago,” Dr. O’Keefe warned.
