Scientists studying the DNS preserved in Arctic permafrost sediments and in the remains of ancient woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros have concluded that the beasts likely died out due to a change in their diet, according to Reuters.
The herbivorous mammals supposedly relied on protein-rich wildflowers that could be found in many all over the artic, but the dramatic Ice Age climate change caused a drastic decline in the plants.
The result was an Arctic covered in shrubs and grasses, which didn't have the same nutritional value as the wildflowers to keep the beasts alive, according to the study.
Results of the study were published in the journal Nature on Feb. 5.
Scientists have been trying to figure out what caused the extinction for a long time now.
"Now we have, from my perspective at least, a very credible explanation," Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen, said according to Reuters.
The discovery also cancels out the popular notion that humans arriving in these regions were the sole reason for the extinction of woolly mammoth and rhinoceroses.
"We think that the major driver (of the mass extinction) is not the humans," Willerslev said.
The change in vegetation likely started around 25,000 years ago, and ended 10,000 years ago, according to the study.
The researchers acquired approximately 242 permafrost sediment samples from a number of Arctic locations and analyzed the feces and stomach contents from the mummified remains of Ice Age animals as well.
"The whole Arctic ecosystem looked extremely different from today. You can imagine these enormous steppes with no trees, no shrubs, but dominated by these small flowering plants," Willerslev said.
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