Climate change most likely cause of woolly rhino extinction – study
The woolly rhino may have been wiped out by climate change rather than human hunting, researchers have revealed.
Enormous, hairy and with a huge hump, the woolly rhino roamed northern Eurasia until about 14,000 years ago. The cause of its demise has been much debated, with remains found near prehistoric human sites raising the question of whether they were hunted to extinction.
Now researchers say analysis of ancient DNA from woolly rhinos found in north-east Siberia suggests climate change was the more likely culprit.
“It hammers home the fact that rapid climate warming can have devastating impacts on species survival,” said Prof Love Dalén, a co-author of the research at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden. “While perhaps we are let off the hook in terms of having killed them with spears back then, it highlights the risk that we are taking with biodiversity at present when we are affecting global climate on a rapid scale.”
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