The Past, Present, and Future of British Megafauna

The Past

During the interglacial period, the British Isles looked very different: the UK was much colder, and as such, a variety of surprising species roamed the area. Two species obviously well adapted for the cooler climate were the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and woolly rhinoceros (Ceolodonta genus), similar to the elephants and rhinos of today. These species roamed the expansive grassland flats that covered much of the area, which received a lot less precipitation than we do now, so plants received a lot of light and weren’t often covered by snow, meaning herbivores had a lot to eat. The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) survived on grazing forested areas and could be as tall as 2m (6 foot 7 inches): that’s not even including their massive antlers! While these species all have names that related to modern day animals, the extinct Auroch (Bos primigenius) has no current namesake but was actually similar to the cattle now reared by humans, albeit wilder and larger (weighing up to 900kg). 

As well as large herbivores, a number of carnivores, now long extinct, also inhabited the area that is now the UK. Cave lions (Panthera spelaeus), thought to be even larger than our current day species, likely hunted deer other large herbivores, while cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) were probably either herbivorous or omnivorous. 

These species have been extinct for 10s of thousands of years in most cases, though aurochs were likely alive until as recently as the 17^th century. Two main factors probably played into their demis: climate change and anthropogenic forces. It’s likely that as the climate warmed after the glacial period, ranges of adapted species like the woolly mammoth had to shift, and the incoming human settlements probably prevented some movement, as one of many competitor species. Many of these species became extinct globally, but the UK, as an island, felt any impacts quicker than larger land masses, partially due to a lack of outbreeding with other populations. 

The Present

Some large mammals were still left, or made their way to the area after the extinction of these species, some of which probably had similar niches to those lost. However, humans hunted wolves and bears, among others, to extinction. The loss of so many large species, including all megafauna, impacts ecosystems in many ways, unbalancing food webs and disrupting ecosystem services and functions.  

Large carnivores would once have controlled deer and herbivore, but now deer are seen as pests across the country. Where they have little to fear in terms of predation, they can graze areas constantly, in turn reducing diversity of plant species that can grow, leading to less biodiverse forests and grasslands. 

Large herbivores would increase habitat diversity by preventing succession of species like trees, and disturbance, such as rootling by boar, provide an opportunity for coloniser species to grow. The feeding and movement of these animals is also important for the dispersal of plants’ seeds in dung.  

The Future

While few megafauna have survived to the present day, aside from many in Africa and Asia, the niche that they occupied within the ecosystem has been filled by, usually smaller, similar species. However, in the UK, where the modern bear and wolf have also been lost, meaning the ecological function of these larger animals is lacking. 

The concept of reintroducing species lost from the ecosystem is popular in conservation. Though there are no extant megafauna that could be reintroduced to the UK, some reintroductions have been explored. For example, beavers, which have been extinct in the UK since the 16^th century, have been reintroduced in a number of sites.  

Outside of the UK, one of the most famous examples of species reintroduction is the wolves of Yellowstone National Park, in the USA.  Wolves could be deemed an ecosystem engineer, or keystone species, meaning they have a great impact on ecosystem functioning, services or stability, relative to the numbers of individuals required: in this case, having knock-on effects on vegetation succession through controlling herbivore populations. 

Similarly, Oostvaardersplassen is a huge rewilding project in the Netherlands, which includes the introduction of functionally similar proxies for extinct species (such as Heck cattle alike to the Auroch that once inhabited the area). 

The Knepp Estate in England has taken inspiration from this project, and their rewilding efforts now include the introduction of hardy Longhorn cattle, which take the spot Aurochs may once have filled, grazing trees and ground flora. A visit to a rewilding project like this can give a glimpse into how the prehistoric landscape of the UK would once have been populated. 

Read More:

• BBC TWO – Ice Age Giants documentary 
• Wilding – Isabella Tree 
• The Missing Lynx – Ross Barnett
• Rewilding Britain website

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