While Ireland may not be home to snakes, the island’s actual natural habitat is teeming with other wildlife, both past and present.It is now House It is home to 40 species of land and marine mammals, 12,000 species of insects, and more than 400 species of birds. The fearsome wolf roamed the forests of Ireland until it was hunted to extinction by 1786. These wolves were probably the main predators of the extinct wolf, one of the major players in Ireland’s natural history. huge deer (Megaloceros giganteus)more commonly known as the Irish Moose.
The male was approximately 6.5 feet tall, weighed over 1,500 pounds, and boasted horns over 12 feet wide.In comparison, modern elk antlers are approximately 4 feet wide. These giant Ice Age mammals were the largest deer in Europe.
They are primarily associated with Ireland, but are found eastward from the present western tip of the continent towards Lake Baikal in Russia. A 17,000-year-old cave painting in southern France depicts a deer with giant antlers. Archaeologists believe it’s possible Megaloceros.Additional specimens have also been discovered Asia and North Africa. Megaloceros First discovered in the bogs of Ireland, scientifically explained in the 1690sHowever, its fossils continue to be discovered all over the island.
[Related: Why doesn’t Ireland have snakes?]
“Despite being a small place, Ireland has large deposits of modern deer and giant deer.” paolo viscardisays a natural history officer at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. pop science. “The depositional environment is just perfect and the preservation of these animals is incredible. Huge deer are constantly appearing here.”
heavy head
Even though most museums list this animal as a moose. Megaloceros It was a deer. Their horns were made of strong bone. This strong bone is one of the reasons why it is better preserved than animal horns, which are made of keratin. This is the same material as human hair and nails, and it dries up over time.horn too more permanent It is the same as that found in bighorn sheep.
oldest fossil Megaloceros Dating back to about 400,000 years ago And the newest fossils are about 8,000 years old.Several Megaloceros Horn fossils have been found completely separated, but other fossils have been found attached to the skull.
“The anatomy is really interesting because it’s so big,” Biscardi said.. “I’ve handled quite a lot of things over the years, and when you hold them in your hands, you realize how much they weigh. Not only did an animal grow this, but they also worked with it every day. Being able to walk around with it on my head and fight with it is just incredible.”
Antlers in the rut
Just like deer, they shed these antlers every year. Paleontologists believe that males had very thick skulls and strong neck vertebrae to carry these horns. Reproduction was also the main reason for these giant appendages, as males use them to compete for mates, like modern-day deer and elk.
“It was a signal to the other males to stay away, which is very useful in the nitty gritty of actual combat,” Viscardi said.
[Related: How do deer grow antlers so quickly?]
Megaloceros They were probably very opportunistic and seemed to eat whatever plants they could get their hands on. Although it was primarily a herbivore, it may have eaten some animals, as it expended enormous amounts of energy competing for this mate each year.
“I would be rather surprised if they didn’t eat bits of dead animals,” Biscardi says. “I suspect that the males were actually actively foraging for and feeding on the bones and remains of scavengers and carnivores, a sight that is still common today when deer are abundant. They rely on nutrients and minerals. It gnaws on the bone fragments it finds to extract it.”
![Irish deer knee bone](https://www.popsci.com/uploads/2024/03/15/elk-knee-bone-scaled.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&width=100)
Having such large horns benefited the reproductive survival of the species as a whole, but came at a high cost to the individual. Biscardi said some of the specimens found with their horns intact likely died shortly after estrus because they didn’t have enough food to stay alive. The remains of large flocks of males have been found together in swamps and farmlands across Europe, and it is likely that many did not have a chance to get enough food before the onset of winter.
prolonged extinction
Extremely cold It may also have been involved in its extinction in parts of Western Europe. Their first wave of extinction began about 12,000 years ago. As the climate began to cool, giant deer began to disappear from what is now Ireland and most of Europe.
“Loss of food availability and reduced reproductive rates probably caused the Irish extinction,” Biscardi said. “As it gets colder, the quality of available food decreases.
[Related: Researchers retraced a woolly mammoth’s steps 17,000 years after it died.]
However, their extinction did not end once and for all.Several Fossils discovered in central Russia It has been revealed that a huge deer enclave existed 8,000 years ago. This last giant deer population may have been wiped out by water climate, unlike the giant deer of Western Europe, which were wiped out by extreme cold and ice. In a warmer world, they would have had to navigate ever-growing forests with their giant horns. less grassland available So that they can eat.
Some areas of Europe were beginning to expand when Neolithic settlements became extinct, and may have been under pressure from humans. Humans removing much of the vegetation may have exposed them to continued stress, but it was still glaciers and extreme cold that most likely led to their extinction in Ireland. .
“I don’t think there’s any hard evidence that humans showed up at the site in Ireland. We were hunting and things like that,” Biscardi said. “Rather, it’s because the climate is becoming less comfortable.”