Climate Change May Have Killed the Woolly Mammoth in Mass Extinction

First Posted: Jul 24, 2015 06:57 AM EDT

How did mammoths die? Scientists may have discovered the reason behind the mass extinction. They've found that abrupt warming that closely resembles the man-made warming of today may have helped drive these large animals to extinction.

The researchers used advances in analyzing ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating and other geologic records in order to better understand the time period during which mammoths and other large mammals went extinct. By looking at the fossil evidence, they found that rapid warming was the cause of the extinctions during the last glacial maximum.

"This abrupt warming had a profound impact on climate that caused marked shifts in global rainfall and vegetation patterns," said Alan Cooper, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "Even without the presence of humans we saw in mass extinctions. When you add the modern addition of human pressures and fragmenting the environment to the rapid changes brought by global warming, it raises serious concerns about the future of our environment."

The new research helps explain why mammoths and giant sloths became extinct around 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. With that said, humans still did play an important role in driving these animals to extinction. However, the abrupt warming probably drove the animals over the edge, and probably even set the extinction events in motion.

These findings reveal a bit more about this time period and show that it wasn't just overhunting that caused the extinction of these mammals. Instead, climate change had a large role to play, which may also act as a warning to us as temperatures warm today.

The findings are published in the journal Science.