What If You Lived in Prehistoric Australia?-100%
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What If You Lived in Prehistoric Australia?
what if: This was a time of giant kangaroos, mega marsupial lions, super long snakes, and terrifying birds. If you think Australia is scary today, just wait until we go back 100,000 years. Almost everything wanted you dead. But humans did manage to live side by side with these creatures and survive.
But how? In this episode, we'll explore how humans survive during this era and whether or not we were the cause of these creatures extinctions.
This is WHAT IF, and here's what would happen You've arrived in the midst of the late Pleistocene which ran from 126,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Once you land on the Australian shores, you'll be met with some massive and terrifying beasts. Let's take a look at some of the most terrifying ones. Don't look now, but behind you is the Diprotodon the biggest marsupial that ever roamed the Earth.
This particular specimen is coming in at 3.8 meters (12.5 feet) long and 1.8 meters (6 feet) high. It weighs as much as a car. It's big head comes with an enormous mouth, powerful jaws, and upper incisors the size of bananas. It uses all these to maintain its diet.
But would that include you? Well, good news. You'll be safe from this guy because the Diprotodon is a herbivore. One that eats an unbelievable amount of fibrous plant matter, including branches, leaves, shrubs, and stems.what if
Up to 100 kg (220 lbs.) of plant matter on a daily basis. This binge eating had a huge impact on the environment - but in a good way. The Diprotodon would eat and then, of course, poop, dispersing plant seeds far and wide. Because this creature ate so much food, it needed to have a pretty massive head. If it hadn't been for one odd evolutionary trait, it might not have been able to lift it up off the ground.
The Diprotodon was lucky enough to have a skull full of air pockets, making it much lighter to lift. They lived all over Australia - except Tasmania. Some scientists believe there's a possibility they might have been migratory creatures.what if
humans migrate to Australia from all over the world
If that's true, they would have been the only marsupials to behave that way. Today, humans migrate to Australia from all over the world. Except nowadays, when we're traveling there, we don't need to worry about megafauna. We just need to worry about really long flights and changing time zones.
You know, if I traveled from Toronto, Canada to Sydney, Australia today, I'd be crossing around 16 time zones. By the time I got off the flight. How would I have any idea of what time it was? Sure, most days I'd just check my smartphone for the accurate local time, but not on a special day like today.
Because today I'm going to use this incredible sundial I just received in my latest Curiosity Box. Every three months, I get a new Curiosity Box delivered to my studio, and I'm always so excited to see what's inside. Created by Michael Stevens, a fellow science YouTuber from Vsauce.
This subscription delivers boxes of premium science toys, experiments and collectibles four times per year. The holiday box includes these seven wire puzzles to exercise your brain. This rainbow diffraction chocolate mold to make holographic chocolate.what if
And of course, the Schmoyer sundial. It's one of the only sundial designs in the world that can tell accurate clock time. It can even account for daylight savings time. Want to know how? Well, then you got to get the box. They also have a special holiday offer which gives a free Legacy box to all new customers that purchase an annual plan.
Trust me, it's the perfect gift or adults and teens in your life that love science. You know these boxes always inspire me for new What If episodes, but the holiday box gave me even more ideas than usual. Well, that's because it features this book that explores wild hypothetical scenarios like scientific teleportation and faster than light travel.what if
Just like the ones on our channel, it's a new collection of stories from one of the earliest science fiction writers, Edward Paige Mitchell. You know, if it wasn't for his early curiosities, there might not be a what if today, I wonder if he has any stories about traveling to prehistoric Australia.
Well, you'll have to find out yourself by clicking in the link below. Until then, let's get exploring. Ok time to meet another creature from prehistoric Australia. This time, it's a lot scarier. It's a huge goanna! This gigantic monitor lizard, called the Megalania is the largest land based lizard of all time.
It was a ferocious reptilian predator. A carnivore that ate large mammals, snakes, birds, and other reptiles. So it's probably a good idea to stay clear of this guy. This lizard could grow to as long as 5 meters (16 feet). And weighed up to 575 kg (1270 lbs).what if
If you look closely at its snout, you’ll see an unusual crest. This snout housed some scary, sharp teeth that curved backward. This goanna was both an ambush predator and a scavenger. It would lay in wait for its next victim —innocent kangaroos, deer, wild pigs, maybe even you.
Then, it would pounce. Its toxic saliva would first cause an infection. And shortly after death. This guy is still around today —sort of. You can see relatives of the Megalania in reptiles like the Komodo Dragon. But its closest relative is another lizard in Australia, the Perentie.
At least this one isn't as massive. If you think this giant lizard is bad, just wait until you see what we have next. Time to check out another beast, this time a non-venomous one. A giant snake called the Wonambi. Wonambi liked to live in the cool and dry regions of Australia.what if
Now, I just told you it's non-venomous, but you'd probably want to stay away from it anyway. Like the Megalania, it was an ambush predator. And it liked to kill its prey by squeezing them to death. If you're wandering around prehistoric Australia, you might encounter it hanging out by a watering hole. Usually, it goes after kangaroos and wallabies who are stopping for a drink.
The Wonambi liked to wrap its 4-6 meter (13-20 feet) long body tightly around you until you stopped breathing. Luckily these snakes aren't around anymore. So, these megafauna were living in Australia all throughout the Pleistocene period - from 2.5 million years ago. But if we fast forward to 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, something terrible happens.
The megafauna go extinct
Just a little before the extinctions occurred, a new apex predator arrived on land. Was it some new, terrible, and scary beast? No. It was just us humans. If you were around during this time, you would've been part of the earliest Australians on the continent.
They arrived maybe 65,000 years ago. Coming by boat to northern Australia, and then quickly spreading around the coast, and into the interior. Which brings us to two important questions. First. How did humans survive these dangerous megafauna?what if
Well, early humans were armed with two critical weapons to survive living amongst these creatures. Fire and hunting weapons. Scientists have found megafauna remains while looking at old aboriginal settlements. One of the weapons of choice to fend off these megafauna may have been sharpened bones.
But that's not all. It's also suspected that these early humans developed the use of nets to capture some of these creatures. Since they moved so fast, it would have been difficult to spear them effectively. But flinging that over them?
Well, that could be an easy and effective way to slow them down. And then go in for the kill. To further protect yourself during this time, you'd want to build a shelter. Rock and bone shelters were a popular choice in prehistoric Australia because they could prevent animals from getting in and eating you.
These structures were also essential to protect you from the environment. Australia during this time had different temperatures, geographies, and climates. Humans mostly settled around the coast which had savanna-like climates and occasional rainfalls.what if
If you moved inland, you'd be met with harsher desert-like regions. There were very limited water sources made for a tough environment for humans to survive in. But less water actually benefitted the early humans. Since it made it easier to travel all around Australia.
Land bridges were exposed to helping humans migrate to new places and survive these terrifying megafauna. What other animals did they have to survive against? Well, hopefully something a little friendlier this time.
If you try going into a lake for a swim, you might encounter the ruthless freshwater crocodile. This giant beast was up to 5 meters long and was nicknamed the Swamp King. Its prey were creatures coming for water at mud springs, or innocent humans stopping for a swim.what if
The freshwater crocodile was built to be a ferocious predator. It had deeper and wider jaws than modern saltwater crocodiles. Today, its closest living relative is the Indo-Pacific crocodile, which can grow up to 6 meters. But the old swamp king was bulkier than this modern-day croc and had a bigger snout.
OK, let's get away from this croc and go find - any guesses? Yeah, another terrifying creature that wants to kill you. And this one might be the scariest yet. If we swoop down into one of the ancient forests, we're going to see a pretty unusual lion-type predator, the Thylacoleo.
This wasn't like a lion you'd find at the zoo. It was a carnivorous marsupial, like a cross between a kangaroo and a deadly cat, fully equipped with a pouch to carry its young. It's known as one of the most destructive, predatory beasts ever. And there's a good reason for that description. Scientists have found that the Thylacoleo had the bite strength of a 250 Kg (550 lbs).what if
Though it scavenged when it got a chance, it was an ambush predator. Equipped with some of the fiercest teeth ever seen for effective killing. Large, serrated upper incisors and enlarged cheek teeth helped it tear apart its prey.
Plus, like my cute little housecat, it had a thumb claw in a sheath. But unlike my kitty, this claw was very large and may have been used to disembowel its victims. With these teeth and powerful bite, the Thylacoleo could have taken on almost any creature.
If you encountered this predator in the Australian outback, there's one saving grace. It wasn't the fastest runner. So if you see this beast, get running, run as fast and as long as you can. And don't try to climb up a tree because this beast was well equipped for that.what if
Now, there is a lot of debate about what this creature's total diet consisted of. Its ancestors were herbivores, so there's some speculation that this marsupial lion also enjoyed a salad with its steak. Other yummy parts of its diet included crocodile eggs and bone marrow. Under the melon-muncher hypothesis, some have speculated that Thylacoleo ate native cucumbers.
But somehow I just can't imagine this beast feasting on a jar of garlic dills. But Thylacoleo didn't have the kind of grinding teeth we normally see in herbivores. So if it ate the odd plant or the odd cuc, it would likely only have been once in a while. It would much rather dine on you. Ok, let's check out another nightmarish creature: the thunderbird. This bird stood over 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and had these giant hind legs.
The only issue? Well, it was also equipped with teeny tiny wings so it couldn't fly. It's kind of cute now that you look at it. This bird weighed a lot, around 220-240 kg (485-530 lbs). And naturally, its eggs were pretty darn heavy too, coming in at over 1.5 kg (3.5 lbs).what if
The thunderbird made up for it's lack of flight by being a super fast runner. Pair that with a powerful beak and would want to have you for breakfast? Well, thankfully not as it was probably a herbivore. Finally, something that doesn't want you dead. Phew!
Is the Thunderbird still around today? Yeah, sort of. Its ancestors are today's ducks and geese. Oh, as the mighty have fallen. Now, remember, there are two key questions during this time. We now know how humans survived prehistoric Australia.
But we also know that sadly, the megafauna died out. So the second question is, what made the megafauna go extinct? Was it humans? Or something else? Well, different scientists subscribe to different theories on this. And speaking of which, you should subscribe to our Patreon. There, you can watch episodes like this one early and ad-free.what if
You also get front of line access to our Discord where you can pitch us your WHAT IF ideas. OK, enough showing. How did the megafauna go extinct? Well, according to one theory, sometimes referred to as the Blitzkrieg theory, the early Australians slaughtered all the animals from the Late Pleistocene era. They went extinct within 1,000 years.
Those who subscribe to this theory argue that it would have taken a few thousand years for humans to establish themselves and spread out across the continent. That's why we see an overlap between the two. But humans would have been gradually eating and killing off these megafauna during that time.
Killing off entire species in just 1000 years. It seems a little wonky. OK, now let's revisit the Thunderbirds we met earlier because they carry a clue. Scientists have been studying burn patterns on eggshell fossils. What caused them? Humans? Nature?what if
They've concluded that the burns were not from natural fires. So there's some evidence that humans played a hand in these birds' fate. And looking at humans' destructive behavior nowadays, it's easy enough to believe that it's the humans who were responsible.
But there's also evidence disproving this theory. First off, some scientists argue that a lot of the megafauna, maybe up to 85%, were already extinct before humans got there. But most important, fossils of megafauna have been found that date to periods well after humans arrived on the scene. This proves that humans and these giant beasts coexisted for a long time.
Anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 years of overlap. This indicates that while early humans might have hunted these large beasts, they did it in a sustainable way. If this is true and humans were hunting sustainably, there's got to be something else that was deadly to the megafauna. It's something we're very familiar with today. Climate change.what if
As the last Ice Age began to thaw, it would have had huge implications on habitats. The critical period for Australian fauna would have been around 30,000 years ago. Some scientists who've studied climate change have noticed that things were getting warmer and drier as the Ice Age came to an end. Let's visit a spot in Australia called Cuddie Springs.
And despite what the name suggests, it's not a hot spot for cuddling, but it is a spot where different kinds of megafauna fossils can be found. Comparing fossils from half a million years ago with those from about 40,000 years ago, scientists found that the older creatures ate greens that indicated a much wetter climate. The 40,000 year old specimens had to settle for plants that grew in a much drier environment.
As a result, the later megafauna gave up eating salt-bush, a shrub that the older megafauna had enjoyed. These creatures had figured out that when there isn't enough water to go around, you need to limit your salt intake. Anyone who's bought the extra-large popcorn and the small Coke Zero knows that. And, this tracks with what we know about the climate.
Toward the end of the Pleistocene, Ice Age glaciers melted as the planet warmed. This, in turn, impacted plants and shrubs and affected the megafauna. The drying out of the environment, a higher frequency of fires, and the disappearance of grasslands, and changes in vegetation may have led many of these creatures to go extinct.what if
The scientists in the Blitzkrieg camp have a response to this view on climate change. They argue that the climate has been going through cold and dry alternating with warm and wet cycles over and over again for the last 2.5 million years. And yet the megafauna had survived those cycles multiple times. It was only when humans landed on the scene that the megafauna were unable to cope with climate change.
So they may have a point. For sure, the argument isn't settled yet. It could be humans who made the megafauna extinct, or it may have been the environment, or maybe it was something somewhere in between.
The one thing we know for sure is that humans are powerful predators with an unmatched ability to impact our environment. We're seeing that today as the temperature continues to rise relentlessly due to human-induced warming. Humans are both incredible creators and destroyers. you can read more about what if here. you can watch more about what if:
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