Why Are There No Hyenas In Europe?
In prehistoric times, there were impressive animals such as mammoths, rhinos or hyenas in Europe. Although some of these species have long been extinct on the Old Continent, the spotted hyena, which still exists in Africa, lived almost 10,000 years ago in Europe. Why are there no hyenas in Europe ?
How do we know there were hyenas in Europe?
Like other animals that cannot currently be found on this continent, tracking hyenas in Europe is only possible through the fossil record or through ancient records of humans who saw these animals.
But there are also hyena fossils, which have allowed CSIC scientists to study why there are no hyenas in Europe. Here, we are talking about the spotted hyena, which lived on the European continent and which still has a huge presence in Africa today.
the spotted hyena
The spotted hyena is the carnivore that has survived in Europe for tens of thousands of years. Nowadays, we know this carnivore very well. Although it traditionally feeds on carrion, this animal is a good hunter and very intelligent.
The spotted hyena is an animal with a powerful jaw. Females are the ones who set the pace for the herd, just like other species, in which females rule the animal kingdom.
Why are there no hyenas in Europe?
According to these researchers, the climate changes produced on the continent were not the direct cause of the disappearance of the hyena in Europe. However, they probably influenced a lot.
Apparently, African and Eurasian hyenas have been separated for thousands and thousands of years. Climatic conditions became extreme for these animals, in southern Europe, about 21,000 years ago.
Still, there were other changes that may have affected the hyenas. Climate change has also affected their prey. Another factor was the expansion of the human being, which led large European carnivores to extinction.
The hyena extinction in Europe happened about ten years ago, in the late Pleistocene, which coincided with these factors. Even so, this animal came to live in places like Galicia.
learn from the past
Undoubtedly, like other species of large predators, hyenas were losing their most important ecosystems. Nowadays, species like the wolf, the bear or the European lynx have disappeared from many European countries due to human pressure. They only survived in those places where they adapted to survive, like the Iberian wolf in the Serra da Culebra or the brown bears in the Cordillera Cantabrica.
Some wonder if the spotted hyena can return to Europe and could be considered an endangered species that disappeared from the Iberian Peninsula, as is the case with the Spanish beaver. However, climate change makes this task impossible, which would be impossible for many. We cannot forget that a large part of the fauna that lived with these hyenas has also disappeared. This is a natural cycle, which the human being is accelerating.
