Dear Reader
A man hides in the scrub and watches an animal feeding near the river; it is huge and very wary, taller than the man. Despite its massive size the creature is not a threat and only eats plants. However, its size must be respected and the hunter would need help to kill or trap it. Time to move on and look for smaller prey. Such thoughts might have passed through the mind of an Aboriginal hunter thousands of years ago when far larger animals, called Megafauna, roamed the Australian continent.
Lifesize sculpture of a Diprotodon at Naracoorte Caves SA. Diprotodon was the largest of the Australian Megafauna.
Today, only traces of these animals remain. It is generally thought that they perished from a combination of hunting pressure and environmental changes. Some of their remains have been found in caves on the Nullarbor Plain and at Naracoorte in the south east of SA, as well as a few other locations.
Inside the Naracoorte Caves
The term Megafauna usually refers to animals weighing over 100 Kg but as the Australian Megafauna were smaller than those in other parts of the world it is generally accepted that Australian animals over 40 Kg can be classed as Megafauna. Hence, Kangaroo species and wombats can still be called Marsupial Megafauna. In other classifications: Emus, Cassowaries, Saltwater Crocodiles and some large pythons, also fall into this category.
Australian Saltwater Crocodile, an example of existing Reptile Megafauna.
Southern Cassowary, an example of Australian Avian Megafauna similar to the African Ostrich.
African Ostrich, an example of African Avian Megafauna and similar to the Australian Southern Cassowary.
On some continents the Megafauna are still a significant part of the biosphere. To really get a sense of the current Megafauna we must shift our focus to Africa. Here, there are many examples of large animals still surviving in the wild including: African Lions, Hippos, rhinoceros species, giraffe species, African Elephants, Cape Buffalo, Nile Crocodiles and Ostriches. The latter two species have Australian counterparts in Saltwater Crocodiles, Emus and Cassowaries. There was even a marsupial lion-like predator called Thylacoleo which roamed the Australian bush and only disappeared around 30,000 years ago.
African giraffe, an example of existing African Mammal Megafauna.
African rhinoceros, an example of existing African Mammal Megafauna.
Other continents also have their own remaining Megafauna. Bears, Horses and Bison are classic examples. It is interesting to consider that around ten thousand years ago many more large animals roamed our planet. Some of them are related to species I have just mentioned. A good example is the Elephant’s close relative, the Woolly Mammoth.
African Elephants the largest of the world’s existing terrestrial Megafauna and a close relatives of the Woolly Mammoth.
The extinction of the Megafauna, environmental changes, human intervention and predation are themes so familiar to us at the moment and perhaps by glancing into the past we can learn lessons for the future.
I hope you have enjoyed this diversion from my usual posts. It has given me the chance to use images and experiences from my travels and other nature-based interests. Any comments about this work would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
BAZ
Additional notes
Please pass on this blog title and or contact information (URL) to any person or organisation with an interest in taking walks and enjoying wildlife in SA.
Click on the links below for more information about this topic and to see more South Australian stories and pictures in my Weekend Notes articles as well as locating similar blogs on Feedspot’s top 20 Australian wildlife blogs
https://www.weekendnotes.com/profile/651267/
https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_wildlife_blogs/
Article Information
https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/diprotodon-optatum/
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