Scientists discover the reason there aren’t more Bigfoots

Climate change killed off a race of giant 10 foot tall apes living in China around 250,000 years ago, according to a new study.

The reasons behind the extinction of the three metre tall species, who weighed in at an estimated 250 kilos (39 stones), had remained a mystery until now.

The very distant human ancestors – Gigantopithecus blacki – once roamed the forests of southern China, but went extinct before man’s arrival in the region.

However, many believers in the myth of Bigfoot, Sasquatch and the Abominable Snowman think a sole surviving Gigantopithecus could be behind the mystery.

Around 2,000 fossilised teeth and four jawbones are the only remaining signs of their existence.

Now new evidence, uncovered by an international research team, has shown ‘beyond doubt’ that the largest primate to walk the earth went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago, unable to adapt its food preferences and behaviours, and vulnerable to the changing climates that sealed its fate.

‘The story of G. blacki is an enigma in palaeontology – how could such a mighty creature go extinct at a time when other primates were adapting and surviving?’ said co-lead author Professor Yingqi Zhang, from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

‘The unresolved cause of its disappearance has become the Holy Grail in this discipline.

‘The IVPP has been excavating for Gigantopithecus evidence in this region for over 10 years but without solid dating and a consistent environmental analysis, the cause of its extinction had eluded us.’

The definitive evidence revealing the story of the giant ape’s extinction, published in the journal Nature, came from a large-scale project collecting evidence from 22 cave sites spread across a wide region of Guangxi Province in southern China.

Researchers mapped Gigantopithecus teeth to extract information on the apes’ behaviour, while others studied pollen and fossil bearing sediments found in caves to reconstruct the environments in which the giant thrived and then disappeared.

Six different dating techniques were applied to the cave sediments and fossils, producing 157 radiometric ages.

These were then applied to 11 caves containing evidence of Gigantopithecus, and 11 caves of a similar age range where no Gigantopithecus evidence was found.

This enabled the team to determine a reliable time period in which the giant apes lived, while further analysis and reconstructions of the period enabled them to establish the environmental conditions leading up to when Gigantopithecus went extinct.

Then, by assessing the apes’ teeth, the team modelled Gigantopithecus’s behaviour while it was flourishing, compared to during the species’ demise.

‘Teeth provide a staggering insight into the behaviour of the species indicating stress, diversity of food sources, and repeated behaviours,’ said Professor Joannes-Boyau.

The findings show the giant ape went extinct much earlier than previously assumed. Before that time, the team said the giant apes ‘flourished’ in a rich and diverse forest.

But, around 700,000 to 600,000 years ago, the environment had become more variable due to the increase in the strength of the seasons, causing a change in the structure of the forest communities.

Orangutans (genus Pongo) – a close relative of Gigantopithecus – adapted their size, behaviour and habitat preferences as conditions changed.

In comparison, Gigantopithecus relied on a less nutritious back up food source when its preferences were unavailable, decreasing the diversity of its food.

The researchers said the giant apes became less mobile, had a reduced geographic range for foraging, and faced chronic stress and dwindling numbers.

‘Gigantopithecus was the ultimate specialist, compared to the more agile adapters like orangutans, and this ultimately led to its demise,’ said Professor Zhang.

Co-lead author Professor Kira Westaway, of Macquarie University in Australia added: ‘With the threat of a sixth mass extinction event looming over us, there is an urgent need to understand why species go extinct.

‘Exploring the reasons for past unresolved extinctions gives us a good starting point to understand primate resilience and the fate of other large animals, in the past and future.’

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