Existing comment:
North America
74% of animal species over 110 lbs (50 kg) disappeared starting around 14,000 years ago.
Extinction in North America
Humans arrived in North America by 14,000 years ago. Some kill sites preserve evidence that people hunted and butchered herds or large animals. The demise of one large animal species can set off a cascade of ecosystem shifts that hasten more extinctions.
Because we use weapons and eat almost anything, humans can be the most dangerous predators. Humans have always survived on a wide range of foods -- plants and animals, big and small. This allowed human populations to survive even when a particular food source, such as big prey, went extinct. |