Re: Absolutely Bonkers


"John Harshman" <jharshman.diespamdie@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:tM%Ne.1$A%1.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Glenn wrote:
>
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4160560.stm
> >
> > "If a group of US researchers have their way, lions, cheetahs, elephants and
> > camels could soon roam parts of North America, Nature magazine reports. "
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > "But man's arrival on the continent - about 13,000 years ago, according to one
> > prevalent theory - pushed many of these impressive creatures to extinction."
> >
> > And hasn't, where man supposedly originated and lived for much longer.
>
> This is the non-bonkers part of the story. What do you mean by
> "supposedly" here? Do you think that man didn't originate in Africa, or
> live much longer there than in America? If so, why?
>
> As for the lack of overkill in Africa, the theoretical reason is that
> the biota there evolved along with humans, and thus adjusted to them.
>
So the theory that many of the animals were pushed to extinction is "non-bonkers",
and the "theoretical" reason that the same didn't happen in Africa is that the
animals "adjusted" to humans. In a later post you seem to suggest that at least
one reason that the animals in the America's were pushed to extinction is because
they were not adapted, or "adjusted" to humans, and I assume you cite as evidence
an example of an animal that has not adapted to humans, the dodo bird.
This is great stuff, John.

>From the article:
"During the Pleistocene era - between 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago -
North America was home to a myriad of mega fauna. Once, American cheetah (Acinonyx
trumani) prowled the plains hunting pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) - an
antelope-like animal found throughout the deserts of the American Southwest - and
Camelops, an extinct camelid, browsed on arid land. But man's arrival on the
continent - about 13,000 years ago, according to one prevalent theory - pushed
many of these impressive creatures to extinction."


I don't see an animal that has virtually no predators here, nor the dodo. And it
appears that if your "theory" is correct, that the extant animals of the America's
would have "adjusted" to humans within 13,000 years. I find that amazing, and
perplexing at the same time. The few animals that were lucky to possess traits
which somehow led them to run from or succesfully hide or defend themselves from
humans passed these traits on and eventually became fixed in the population in a
blindingly short period of time. The pronghorn would have had no defense against
humans, since they had no fear, I suppose is your concept. But how do we explain
deer and pronghorn, probably slower 12,000 years later, not being driven to
extinction? Did red man become one with mother nature and brother bear?










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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Absolutely Bonkers
    ... >>the biota there evolved along with humans, ... > animals "adjusted" to humans. ... > one reason that the animals in the America's were pushed to extinction is because ... populations, making hunting less rewarding. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Absolutely Bonkers
    ... >> one reason that the animals in the America's were pushed to extinction is because ... >> an example of an animal that has not adapted to humans, ... Once, American cheetah (Acinonyx ... The majority of extinctions were the largest animals, ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Absolutely Bonkers
    ... >>>one reason that the animals in the America's were pushed to extinction is because ... >>>an example of an animal that has not adapted to humans, ... The majority of extinctions were the largest animals, ... >>populations, making hunting less rewarding. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Death of Megafauna
    ... >> used for cutting the throats of sacrificial animals. ... The mammoth in the Old World survived ... Humans like other predators were dangerous to very young and very old ... to extinction in a time were mammoth bones a scarce in human settlements? ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: How much does the average IQ of Homo Sapiens evolve in 3000 years?
    ... to extinction. ... Prehistoric overkill: ... humans - whether of Australia, North America, South America, Madagascar, ...
    (talk.origins)