GA4

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

LEMURS - Did Humans Eat Giant Lemur to Extinction?

Discovery Channel has this report on research into the life and death of giant lemurs.
The first humans that settled Madagascar around 2,000 years ago likely hunted to extinction giant lemurs and other unusual animals from the Indian Ocean island, such as eleven-foot-tall birds, suggests an upcoming study.

While the report does not rule out disease, fire and other factors that could have contributed to the giant lemurs' demise, it adds to the growing body of evidence that modern humans adversely affected the populations of prehistoric animals.