Laura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
ArticleBody:Thousands of years before a tiny pygmy hippopotamus from a zoo in Thailand named Moo Dang became an internet sensation, an extinct species of dwarf hippos roamed a lush Mediterranean island. These small hippos and dwarf elephants lived on Cyprus. That is, until paleolithic humans arrived and both species disappeared about 14,000 years ago.
Map created by CJA Bradshaw, Flinders University. In the new study, the team built mathematical models combining data from several scientific fields, including paleontology and archaeology. The predictions in the model matched with the timeline that megafauna like these elephants and hippos disappeared from the palaeontological record on the island.
CJA Bradshaw, Flinders University. Based on their reconstructions of human energy demand, diet composition, prey selection, and hunting efficiency, the models demonstrate that the roughly 3,000 to 7,000 hunter-gatherers on Cyprus were likely responsible for driving both the dwarf hippo and dwarf elephants into extinction.
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