ExtinctZoo - 26,000 Years Ago Europe Was Hell

Episode Date: December 21, 2024

"Am I cooked?" - Cro-Magnon (c. 26,000 BCE)

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sponsored job credit at Indeed.com slash podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Europe today has become a highly sought-after destination, and based on multiple studies, it's been deemed to be the top choice for movers again and again, with about 70% of the top 10 most desirable countries to move to being located within Europe. Usually, this is attributed to the general high quality of life, strong social nets, and career opportunities found in many of these countries. However, for how nice it seems now, it wasn't always like this,

and there was a time when humans were present in Europe, but it was the last place. you'd want to travel to, and I'm not talking about when the Black Death was going on, although that would have definitely sucked as well. But no, I'm referring to Europe as it was roughly 26,000 years ago. Now, this may sound oddly specific, but there is a reason for this, as it marks the approximate moment that the last glacial maximum occurred, a period when ice sheets were at their greatest extent worldwide. And Europe was one of the places most heavily impacted by this, which alone made the continent quite difficult to reside in, with massive, of ice sheets spanning across areas greater than countries and coming as far down as Germany.

And these glaciers weren't no ice ring that you could simply walk across, as estimates suggest, that these sheets might have been nearly two miles or three kilometers thick at their deepest points, making traversal essentially impossible. Not to mention, it was also brutally cold, with the average temperature being 9 degrees Celsius lower than today, rendering many areas basically uninhabitable to humans. And just as a cherry on top, the colds, fullness also introduced immense aridity, leading to the areas which were spared from looking like the day after tomorrow, instead becoming a mammoth step, a harsh biome characterized by a general lack of features, undiverse flora, and unforgiving weather. Yet, interestingly enough, it was

actually in this glacial maximum that megafaunal abundance peaked in Europe, leading to a wide range of giant animals living among the step. This was both good and bad news for humans, as it meant more potential prey atoms, but also led to people having to coexist, compete, and battle with numerous predators, many of which are thankfully no longer here today. Some of these extinct carnivores wouldn't be that much of a problem for grown adults, like the European Dole or Lynx, but a few could cause some serious issues to say the least, including multiple animals from a single group that we don't typically think of as the rulers of Europe, Fielids. And this is quite interesting, since if you ask someone why there aren't any giant

phelids in Europe today, they might say something along the lines of, well, it's too cold. And this theoretically makes sense, since most giant cats nowadays do tend to reside in warmer climates. But let me tell you, this is certainly not the reason, as during this unforgiving ice age, Europe was a cat-dominated continent. And of the many genera, the last one you'd have wanted to see was the pantheros Bilea, better known as the cave lion. Contrary to popular belief, the Smilodon was actually not found in Europe during this time, but you could consider the cave lion to be its sort of equal, as it was one of the most important and established apex predators in its habitat.

This beast was fairly related to modern lions, and is believed to have diverged from them around 500,000 years ago, with its more closely related relative having been the American line, which, mind you, was just about the largest philet, to have ever lived. And unsurprisingly, this size seems to have trickled down into the cave lion as well, as fully grown individuals weighed around 400 kilograms

or 880 pounds, and were nearly 3 meters or 10 feet long, making them among the largest caps of all time. And exceptional individuals obtained even greater proportions, with Ukraine in particular having had some monstrous cave lions that were polar bear-sized, weighing over half a ton. However, fossils do show that over time they did tend to get smaller, which you'd think would be great news for humans, but in reality did not mean much, as the youngest cave line remains still showed that they were about the size of modern lions,

so still extremely deadly, to say the least. And their lethality was exponentially increased by the presence of limbs, claws, and teeth that were all relatively larger than those even seen in tigers, allowing them to hunt various megafauna, like mammoths, reindeer, and even cave bears, all of which are confirmed prey through known specimens. On top of this, certain Neanderthals and cromagnin, aka European early modern humans, are sometimes found with bite marks that match the teeth shape of cave lions, strong suggesting that this cat had a taste for our own kind. And its antics seemed to have given it a pretty poignant and fearsome reputation, leaving a deep imprint on various groups of people, and leading to them often being depicted in cave art.

And funny enough, it's this portrayal in art that has actually helped us learn more about this creature. For example, humans often depicted without a mane, and sometimes with other caves. Caveslines, which suggests that at a high level of socialness. And amazingly, we also know what color this cat was, since well-preserved specimens were found with fur intact, letting us know that in cubs it was yellowish-brown, with adults presumably having a very thick and dense undercoat made up of the same yellowish hair as well.

And as its nickname suggests, it has been found in caves, which is very unfortunate for our distant ancestors, as that was prime real estate for them. That being said, cave lions did not actually live in caves that often, and it's quite rare to find remains in one, with the truth being that they generally preferred open steplands, grasslands, and woodlands when available. Not to fear, though, because any human venturing into a cave would still have an abundance of animals to watch out for, including another panthera that's often swept under the rug,

the European leopard, also known as the cave leopard. This cat actually put its cave nickname to good use, and specimens are many times found in them, notably the smaller caves, likely leaving the bigger ones to larger predators. It seems that European leopards like to use these caves for shelter, or perhaps more insidiously, as a dumping pit for fallen prey, where they could then feast in silence and accumulate mounds of victims and bones over time. There is also a fairly strong belief that despite being smaller than other Ice Age predators, the European leopard was still a major nuisance to humans, based on what we know about not only other extinct relatives of it, but also living ones, who, mind you, have routinely become man-eaters.

With one famous example, being a small individual who actually came in second place for the most confirmed human kills, numbering over 400 victims. And this problem might have been more serious with European leopards, due to both the lack of firearms and their increased sizes, with matured specimens often being 40% larger than any living leopard. And even with this size increase, they still retained a high level of agility, with their skeletons remaining very similar to those seen in the Persian leopard, which can carry off unsuspecting prey in mere sex.

And the effectiveness of European leopards apparently caused problems for non-humans too, as their arrival in Europe, approximately one million years ago, is preceded by a drop-off in European Jaguars, who then went extinct before the last glacial maximum, after which leopards became extremely abundant on the continent, being found virtually throughout all of Western Europe. But as a wise man once said, quality over quantity. And this is shown by one animal who proved you don't have to be widespread in order to leave a strong impression. And this was, the homotherium. This apex predator really needs no

introduction, but most people don't know that at this point in time, it was actually the last saber-toothed standing in the Eastern Hemisphere. And for a long time, paleontologists thought that it had actually been snuffed out 300,000 years before the present, and thus never met Homo sapiens in Europe, who arrived about 45,000 years ago. But unfortunately for those humans, this wasn't actually the case, and this idea was upended when a lone jaw fragment was found near the North Sea, which dated to about just 28,000 years ago, implying a much slower demise, and making meetings between it and modern humans pretty much guaranteed. Although, thankfully, it was likely a rare meeting, since Homoetheria made its final stand

in a very northern area that was bitterly cold and icy, therefore not a place you'd expect to find many people. And this separation was likely for the best, as Homoetheria was a Ethereum was a very well-known human killer, having preyed on virtually every kind of human and human-like animal for hundreds of thousands of years. And let's just say, it did this with surprising ease, thanks to its shorter, yet more durable canines that could punch straight through bones. And the fact that its lion-like size was multiplied through its practice of hunting in coordinated packs, ensured that any unwary or unarmed human stood basically no chance. And to add fuel to the fire, a struggle with this saber-tooth was made even more future.

thanks to its adaptations for taking out animals far, far larger than any primate, mammoths, to be exact. The internal skeleton of homotherium was remarkably bear-like, allowing it to tussle with giants, a belief that was verified by the discovery of multiple sites that yielded both homotherium remains and hundreds of damaged mammoths, plus other large animals as well. And guess what? These sites also revealed that homotherium had a rather horrific habit. It turns out that it liked to dismember animals before consuming them. Nice. You said this place was steps from the water.

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Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usaa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. So surely, a bear-like saber-tooth is a clear sign to stay away from the North Sea. And yet, it wouldn't really matter much on what you did. Since along with the Philids, the last glacial maximum, was a very cozy time for bears, who shared in the domination of Europe. Now granted, bears are still common in parts of Europe today, but the contrast between today and 27,000 years ago, is day and night,

as back then multiple kinds could be found in every country and in every environment. This included not only the extant brown bear, but also polar bears, which, while only temporary residents now, were permanent residents of Scandinavia back then, where they were among the largest predators. They were also a bit different back than physically, too, as there is a chance that the Ice Age gave rise to a rather freaky subspecies of polar bear, that was really a Tyrannosaur, of all things.

Kind of. And no, I don't mean a mammal dinosaur hybrid, but simply a polar bear dubbed Ursus Maritimus Tyrannus, meaning the tyrant maritime bear. To say the subspecies is controversial would be putting it lightly, as its entire existence relies solely on a single Ulna found in London. This ulna was absolutely massive even for a bear, who, according to a Finnish paleontologist, had to have represented a giant polar bear that base on the bone was over 1.3 tons in weight.

In other words, 20% heavier than the heaviest recorded polar bears in modern times, and making it among the largest carnivorous mammals to have ever lived. But not everyone has been quick to accept a tyrant polar bear, with some thinking that this enigmatic bone belonged to an abnormally massive brown bear, who were in general larger at the time and well known in the area. Though, I guess because the size is not what's being questioned, it didn't really matter to humans what kind of animal it was, as a one-plus tonner is bad news, regardless of the species.

And let me tell you, there are plenty of less controversial bears to worry about as well, with the chief among them, having been cave bears. To the common ice-ager, this bear might have seemed like a giant brown bear, who just happened to pop up a lot in caves. Yet it wasn't actually a subspecies of brown bear, nor was it a descendant, instead having descended directly from the Deninger's bear, which had popped up about 1.8 million years ago. And at some point during this evolution, this earth had beefed up, becoming similar in size to the giant Codiac bears of today, with which it shared some skeletal similarities.

It was perhaps thanks to this size, and in their thick coats that were perfectly adapted for the cold, that cave bears became one of the most widespread and populous animals around during the last glacial maximum, and were almost comically common in caves, with sometimes single caves containing hundreds of thousands of bones, leading some paleontologists to think that early Europeans might have witnessed literal herds of bears during their lifetime. And because the bones are so ridiculously numerous, civilization is known about their existence for a long time, and in the 1700s believed they were either unicorns or dragons, while during World War I, they indirectly served by providing troops with phosphate.

And of course, with such numbers, one has to wonder, what kind of impact did these massive cave bears have on other animal populations. And this can be debated, as while these guys were definitely visually scary, they might have just been big ol' softies and were strictly vegetarian, a hypothesis based on their lack of two to three premolars which are typically seen in other species. However recently, new reports have come out to suggest that they actually had a diet much like living brown bears, depending on where they lived, with some having isotopic levels similar to the vegetarian mammoths, while others are more omnivorous, getting around the

40% of their calories from meat. So basically, if you saw one, I'd very much suggest resisting the urge to pet it. Because even if you lucked out and stumbled upon the vegan ones, they were still quite feisty, with specimens routinely bearing broken backs, something likely attributed to intense fights during mating season. And not to mention that multiple lions are known to have been killed by them during incursions into their dens. So no matter how cute they are, best to avoid them. And these weren't the only cute, but capable killers in these parts. As well not as established as today, I say Jurep did have a handful of canids who could do some real damage.

Just like bears, this included species both that are still kicking, as well as those that are fully extinct, which surprise surprise includes the can you guess it, cave wolf. These canids were a lot like modern ones and were genetically very similar to wolves found in Siberia, yet because of the extreme weather, they evolved to take down larger prey than their relatives,

leading them to develop sturdy and robust skeletons and enhanced jaw structures, indicating a more powerful bite than what's seen in living wolves. And it seems that they like to use this ferocious bite quite a bit, as their teeth often bore extensive damage not seen in other wolf subspecies, which actually indicates a habit of cracking open bones. These big doggos also sometimes became specialized bear eaters and would venture into caves where hibernating bears slept to take advantage of the situation. But on average, stepbison were the preferred treat.

So far, every tested part of the test. population of cave wolves has been found to be hyper-carnavores, and it certainly didn't help our relatives that they were 10% larger than modern wolves as well. In a similar fashion to many of the other predators found in the last glacial maximum, they managed to spread out a bunch and were found throughout Europe's mountain ranges in particular in the Mediterranean as well. But for all their abundance, not much is actually known about their relationship with humans, a mystery that cannot be said for the next animal, which again, for the umpteenth time, had cave in its name. In this was the cave hyena. Of all the animals mentioned so far, this pack hunter had arguably the biggest

beef with us, and that really wasn't good considering that this was not your typical hyena. Sure, from a distance, it looked a lot like your average hyena, at least according to cave art. But the moment it got on top of you, game over, because this predator, on average, was the same size of the largest jaguars around, with bigger ones weighing over 100 kilos or 220 pounds, and sporting a more down-to-earth built, literally, which gave it great balance. And of course, it also had your standard hyena bone-crushing bite that allowed it to easily bust open bones and access the oh-so-sweet bone marrow within. And, you know, just to make it more O-P, you'd like to stick with friends and family as well, possibly roaming the lands and groups of up to 100 strong. All this combined

made it quite the package, and the cave hyena was among one of the most dominant carnivores in Europe, if not the most, during its existence. And it had a striking impact on nearly every other so-called apex predator, with bears, crazily enough, being one of the more common victims. Hyenas in Europe also totally turned the idea of lions being king on its head. As the two routinely fought, and based on fossils, the hyena came out ahead in the vast majority of cases, with many fallen cave lions not even having consumption patterns, meaning the cave hyenas killed them simply because they didn't like them. and this sort of treatment was also extended to humans, namely Neanderthals and modern humans. By the time of the last glacial maximum, Neanderthals were already extinct.

But their interactions give us more info on what kind of menace hyenas were to humans overall, and the evidence is rather gloomy, as multiple bones in caves and open environments were found cracked and munched up, with hyenas being the likely as perpetrators. Moreover, there might have even been many wars going on during this period, as certain caves were known to alternate between hyena and human occupation, implying that each group would at times chase or kill off the inhabitants of the cave. And this war did not even seize in death, since hyenas would occasionally raid burial grounds,

feasting on the already deceased people within. In fact, their competition with our kind was so fierce that certain paleontologists believe that cave hyenas in Asia kept humans from crossing the Bering Strait, as it was only after their extinction that people started to show up in North America. So, it really doesn't need to be stated that these guys were uneated company for the humans of the time, especially when considering how many other unfriendly faces there were. Now, with all this said, just because there were a ton of predators does not mean that prey

animals during that time were easy pickings, as the last glacial maximum created some pretty badass herbivores, with a handful being just as tough or tougher than any of the predators. Nicely exemplified by the woolly mammoth. This elephanted was an absolute unit. and on average, comparable to large African bush elephants. Those size did vary depending on where it lived. This heftiness made adults pretty well protected, to say the least. And it helped that each one sported a thick coat that not only helped against the cold,

but also doubled his armor, preventing attacks from penetrating too deep. Plus, it would be hard to miss their giant curved tusks, which were actually much longer than those seen in living elephants, with the longest recorded ones coming in at four meters or 14 feet. But because of their curviness and length, the woolly mammoth likely to not stab or pierce threats as a modern elephant can, but rather would smack threats on the side, causing catastrophic blunt force trauma. And we know it had the power to do this, as mammoths are often found with cracked or broken shoulders, indicative of tusk strikes from others of its own kind.

And just to make them more useful, these built-in wrecking balls could also be doubled as multi-purpose tools, as they could dig through snow and move items out of the way. And ultimately, with this array of traits, mammoths became an integral part of Ice Age Europe, and were unusually widespread, even when compared to the other successful Ice Age mammals. And while they were formidable, making hunting them a very difficult task, the presence of mammoths was actually good news for humans, as their meat provided food for long periods, and their bones and fur were used to craft a variety of things such as tools, shelters, and even create art.

And another almost equally formidable animal that gave similar benefits, but on a smaller scale was the woolly rhino. Like its elephanted counterpart, this beast was easily found, and is actually the most widespread rhino we know of. In addition, it was also among the largest, with specimens rivaling the biggest rhinos of today, weighing some three tons when fully grown. And now, while this isn't as impressive as the woolly mammoth size, the rhino had a weapon that was arguably more intimidating than their tusks, and that was its massive horn. And to be exact, it actually had two of these horns, yet it was the front one that you really needed to watch out for, because it had a mean point at the top and was well over half the length of a human,

and of course was also backed by a ridiculously powerful and robust head that led a ram this horn into things with crazy power, which is perhaps why it wasn't a common prey item for humans. And the woolly rhino was joining this Hall of Fame of Prehistoric Weapons by a deer of all things, the Megalaceros, who happened to be the largest deer to have ever lived. Now, because deer aren't super big currently, the biggest of its kind may not seem so exciting. But if you got a look at this thing, you would have been shook, as it stood three meters or ten feet tall and could clock in at almost one ton, making it about the same weight as the heaviest horse breeds. And of course, it had antlers to match this size. And they alone could be more than two humans across and width, and were also surprisingly heavy, being up to 40 kilograms or 88 pounds.

And this massive size, in both the antlers and body, meant that megaloceros needed a gobsmacking amount of nutrition to support its development. And when its antlers were forming, it likely consumed over 1,300 grams of protein per day. Talk about gains. So, while getting struck by this deer would have absolutely ruined your day, we're actually not 100% sure of its offensive capabilities, due to the lack of fossil evidence displaying it. Though what we do know is that humans would once in a while prey on them,

or at the very least, scavenge and process to seize individuals. However, despite them seemingly getting the short end of the stick with humans, this was still a very tough animal. And when you group it with the rest, you can see why Europe was not the best place to live, to say the least. And I didn't even mention the ostriches, water buffalo, or step-bison running around too, because you know those ostriches, they don't mess around. And you also have to remember that things don't necessarily have to be large or carnivorous to have done you in.

As Europe had a plethora of smaller oddities as well, which could be equally ferocious in their own way. For one, there were giant porcupines walking around that probably could have poked you to death if you were unlucky, or you could have stumbled into trogantherium, a plump cheetah-sized beaver that had large teeth perfectly designed for gouging, and when used defensively, could have easily bitten clean through a leg. And did I mention that they also happen to be partly terrestrial, having had adaptations designed for literal running. But of all the oddballs, the king and most impressive was the otter Megalindhydrus. To see this extinct otter, you'd have to have traveled to Sardinia, something not super hard considering how low the sea levels were.

On this island, otters were king, and up to four kinds are known of, with Megalindhydrous being the biggest and baddest. And actually, it may have been the largest otter and therefore muslet of all time, depending on who you ask, as when the tails included, this otter measured up to three meters or ten feet. And considering how dominant living otters already are, paleontologists reckon that megalinehydrus was one of the island's undisputed apex predators. However, thankfully for those on top of the island, its diet was seafood heavy, with a focus

on bottom-dwelling fish and crustaceans. And because of its highly aquatic lifestyle, megalanhydris evolved some fascinating features, including a slightly flattened tail that would have aided in locomotion. And despite living relatively remotely, there is a good chance that this otter met humans, as it possibly survived until the Holocene. So that's all to say, humans had some strange stuff to deal with no matter where they went in Europe, which along with the weather and violence with other humans, ended up taking a major toll on European populations,

a toll potentially identified by a recent study. The researchers estimated that 30,000 years ago, before the last glacial maximum was underway, there were about 330,000 humans living within Europe. And then following the end of the glacial maximum, only 130,000 were left standing. indicating a population loss of 60%, making this time period even more catastrophic to human numbers in Europe than the Black Death was.

The study also found that during the coldest moments of this period, only 36% of the continent would have been suitable for human life, and that's not even factoring in any competition or if suitable prey was present. So suffice to say, you had to be on a whole different level of toughness to make it through this period in one piece. And yet, humans did, and not only did they survive,

but they kind of ended up taking over the whole thing, outperforming other predators and learning to hunt virtually every animal, eventually playing at least a partial hand in many of their extinctions, which really just goes to show how hardcore we humans can be. Thanks for watching, and until next time. Yamava Resort End Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, The powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th.

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