Page 64 - World of Animals - Issue #39

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L OST FOREVER
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OST FOREVER
OST FOREVER
Irish elk

The prehistoric giant deer that walked
the Earth as recent as 10,000 years ago
the Earth as recent as 10,000 years ago

Ireland

Giant antlers
The deer had
antlers that
spanned 2.7 metres
(8.9 feet) that would
weigh 40 kilograms
(88 pounds). Towering height
At 2.1 metres (6.9
feet) tall at the
shoulders, the Irish
elk was one of the
largest deer to
have ever lived.

Incredible
weight
Its total body mass
was somewhere
between 500-700
kilograms (1,190-
1,543 pounds).

Last seen…
This extinct species of deer was also known as Age and a changing climate presented various L as t s een …
the Irish giant deer, giving some indication to its problems for the species. Food scarcity would Date: 10,000 years ago
enormous size. The name is somewhat misleading have been a challenge, as the Earth’s average Location: Ireland
as it wasn’t just restricted to Ireland, but was temperature declined dramatically, the ground
present throughout Europe, northern Asia, Africa, became cold and dry, and fewer plants grew, The Irisk elk is thought to have disappeared
and parts of China, indicating that, at some point, making foraging near impossible. The forests around 10,000 years ago in Ireland, but it is not
it was a widely distributed and successful species. withdrew and became less dense, and the deer known exactly when. Preserved fossils have

Originally it was thought that they were the probably had difficulty getting enough calcium since been analysed leading to the discovery
victims of their own success. With females in its diet to support antler growth – a feature that the elk was the largest species of deer to
sexually selecting mates for the size of their the species relied upon so heavily for mating, have ever existed.
antlers, and thus the level of protection they deterring predators, and defending territory. “Scientists are
could offer, over time the males grew antlers As with most animals that become extinct,
so large they were not able to carry the weight. hunting is usually a factor and many animals were not sure why
Studies have shown this is probably unlikely as, wiped out towards the end of the European Ice
although their antlers were colossal, they were in Age because of this. It is thought that the Irish elk this giant deer
proportion to their body size. was no different.
Scientists are not sure why this giant deer It is difficult to pinpoint one cause of extinction © freevectormaps.com; Alan Batley

disappeared from the Earth, but there are a for this animal, and its demise likely came from a disappeared
number of more plausible theories. One of which number of factors including hunting, starvation, from the Earth”
is that the Irish elk was wiped out during the Ice climate change, and just plain old bad fortune.

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