Younger Dryas


Approximately 11,000 years ago a variety of animals went extinct across North America. These were mostly mammals larger than approximately 44 kg, some of the animals that went extinct are well known (like the saber-toothed cats, mammoths, mastodons). Before this extinction the diversity of large mammals in North America was similar to that of modern Africa. As a result of the extinction, relatively few large mammals are now found in North America.