Climate change, humans and fire likely doomed Ice Age animals
Large-scale wildfires, possibly started by humans, in an ecosystem made fire-prone by climate change caused the disappearance of saber-toothed cats...
Large-scale wildfires, possibly started by humans, in an ecosystem made fire-prone by climate change caused the disappearance of saber-toothed cats, dire wolves and other large mammals in Southern California nearly 13,000 years ago. That's the conclusion from a new study by a team of researchers led by La Brea Tar Pits scientists and including a University of Oregon professor and postdoctoral researcher. Published in the journal Science, the peer-reviewed study breaks new ground in a decades-long scientific debate over what triggered the Earth's last major extinction event.