Monsters We Met - The Burning pt. 4

When our early ancestors entered new lands they encountered a variety of strange new creatures,
monsters that no longer exist. What were they like and where are they now? What are the real answers
to the mystery of the missing megafauna?

100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens first ventured out of Africa.
The world they entered was the domain of giants: monstrous marsupials,
huge eagles, savage short-faced bears and the terrifying 5.5 metre long ripper lizard, Megalania.

These monsters now exist only in our imagination or as long dead bones in a museum.
In some areas of the world over 70% of large mammals became extinct around the time that
humans arrived on the continent. But why? Was it man's arrival or was it coincidence?

What are the real answers to the mystery of the missing megafauna?


Extinctions caused by humans In contrast, the extinctions at the end of the Pleistocene
seem to target large animals, with the small to medium ones escaping relatively lightly.
Scientists that support the overkill hypothesis believe that this evidence points to humans as the culprits.
The impact of human hunters on populations of large, slow-maturing, slow-breeding animals,
such as mammoths and diprotodons, was bound to be far greater than any effect they might have
had on small, rapidly breeding prey such as hares or squirrels.

Therefore, the overkill theory seems to explain why only the megafauna died out.


-The Burning-

Australia - 65,000 years ago. Humans travelled out of Africa and reached South-east Asia perhaps as early as 90,000 years ago. Then around 65,000-68,000 years ago a momentous event happened - someone discovered Australia. The ancestors of the Aborigines made a daring sea voyage and set foot on a new and lonely land. Ancient Australia was a land of drought and fire, with a unique fauna dominated by marsupials, reptiles and giant flightless birds. The first Australians shared their home with the two-tonne Diprotodon, the giant short-faced kangaroo and the platypus. Emus and cassowaries were dwarfed by the 'demon duck' Genyornis. Predators like the marsupial lion and the giant ripper lizard, Megalania, stalked the land.



British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC©

Category:

Education

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• We
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• The
• Burning
• pt.
• BBC

[amm019]

What's with all this racist talk, WHO CARES IF THEY"RE BLACK OR NOT?!

[goddamnfaggots]

har har, kangroo got ate

[Wikkler]

All humans were black at one point. The whole species originated in Africa, they needed all that melanin so they wouldn't get sunburned. Oh yeah, and we're all apes... so...

[SpiritusPhantom]

@TheVelociraptor15 I'm talking about the homo genus, not the Australopithecus

[TheVelociraptor15]

No Hainosaurus, a species of mosasaur, is the largest lizard that's ever lived

[TheVelociraptor15]

If only they used the same CGI as Walking with Beasts this'd be ten times as good

[TheVelociraptor15]

@SpiritusPhantom BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL APES??

[amm019]

@SpiritusPhantom I can imagine them dark brown.

[SpiritusPhantom]

@amm019 did you know that at one point all humans were black?

[thoostorm4]

@Dinoman217 no it is a dino man turd

ss a

[grey9438]

Why no thylaco those were impressive predators

[6Vital6Remains6]

@DaTalantedKiD Why are you a total fucking cock muffin?