Table of Contents
When did the Irish deer become extinct?
Around 400,000 years ago, the Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus) roamed Pleistocene Europe and Asia. The species went extinct around 8,000 years ago.
When did the great Irish elk go extinct?
8,000 years ago
Not revealed by the study is why the giant Irish elk disappeared off the map right across its range 8,000 years ago.
When did giant deer become extinct?
They include the giant deer, which populated huge areas of Eurasia during the Ice Age. These animals were still present in parts of north-western Europe after the Ice Age, before they finally disappeared about 7,000 years ago.
Do Irish elk still exist?
Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) have been extinct for more than 10,000 years, and were one of the largest deer species to ever roam the Earth, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Was there ever moose Ireland?
The Irish elk is known from abundant skeletal remains which have been found in bogs in Ireland. It is not closely related to either of the living species currently called elk: Alces alces (the European elk, known in North America as the moose) or Cervus canadensis (the North American elk or wapiti).
How did deer get to Ireland?
The current red deer population, once thought to have been descendants from the native stock which had come to Ireland at the end of the last ice age, are now believed to have been brought from Britain across the North Channel by neolithic people around 3300 BC.
What made the Irish elk unique?
Irish elk are extinct members of the Cervidae family that died off about 7,700 years ago. It was one of the largest deer species to ever walk the earth. Their primary defining characteristic was their enormous antlers, which dwarfed those of modern-day deer, elk, and moose.
Did humans hunt Irish elk?
Human hunting may have forced Irish elk into suboptimal feeding grounds. The range of the taxon appears to have collapsed during the Last Glacial Maximum, with few remains known between 27,500 and 14,600 years ago, and none between 23,300 and 17,500 years ago.