Monsters We Met - The Burning pt. 5

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

Tags:

• Monsters
• We
• Met
• The
• Burning
• pt.
• BBC

[livingmylifeatmach2]

Hell you lot are childish. Look at you. Arguing over events that no one has any control over. Shit happens. The death of one person is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic. Sure people have done some shit to each other, but is a BBC programme the right place to bring all this up? Just watch the fucking programme, keep your racist views to your fucking selves and grow the fuck up,

[livingmylifeatmach2]

@AnarcissusRising Our "Kind"? Excuse me for thinking that we are not the same species - retard.

Fucking hell you racists annoy me. Blaming someone from another colour for prolbems that happened years ago. It's not like it was people on YouTube who did acts to each other is really? So stop bieng such a fucking child and grow the fuck up.

[Transformers2935]

FREAKY!



[Transformers2935]

All u racists should know ur al descendants of black people!

[MushroomedAnymore]

The aborigines would have already known that reptiles can't move in the early morning hours. They would have known this from their islands of origin where there surely were lizards. They would have known how to deal with a giant lizard from very early on. This is not to say giant lizards weren't a threat. I'm sure those lizards ate many tasty humans before they went extinct.

[xXFATxPEPPERSXx]

cnt u just learn and make fun of black people.

[SpiritusPhantom]

the aboriginals are ethinically caucasian but have dark skin, so whether they are "black" or not depends on whether you mean black the colour or black the race.

[Muzaror]

@thoostorm4 Age has nothing to do with this, mate.

[thoostorm4]

@livingmylifeatmach2 people commenting badly annoy me so you grow the fuck up and fuck off

[Cheater306]

@thoostorm4 That´s not even a real sentence. And why should I shut up? That´s my opinion. And why are you so aggressive? I have done no harm to you, or are you one of those guys that hurt animals just for fun, that my comment makes you so aggressive?

[thoostorm4]

@livingmylifeatmach2 the comments by you show yer stupidityyou sad turdgo back under the rock you came from scumbag