Scientists have uncovered a mystery regarding the extinction of dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants that once roamed the landscape of Cyprus before the arrival of the first humans. During the Late Pleistocene, Cyprus hosted only two species of megafauna – the dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon cypriotes) and the dwarf hippo (Phanourios minor). However, both species became extinct immediately after the arrival of humans around 14,000 years ago.
According to a press release issued by the University of Cyprus, research funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation for the MIGRATE project revealed that Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in Cyprus may have contributed to the extinction of these animals. Led by Professor Corey Bradshaw from Flinders University, the research challenges previous theories that a small human population could not have caused such rapid extinctions.
The research team used mathematical models to examine whether the hunting practices of Cyprus’ first inhabitants were responsible for these extinctions, combining data from paleontology and archaeology.
According to the models, 3,000-7,000 hunter-gatherers were capable of driving the dwarf hippos and elephants to extinction. These findings support the view that early humans in Cyprus played a significant role in the extinction of the megafauna due to the hunting pressure they exerted on the ecosystem.
The research, titled “Small Paleolithic Human Populations in Cyprus Hunted Endemic Megafauna to Extinction,” was published in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society B”.
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