End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals

Over the past 50,000 years, enormous terrestrial animals have disappeared from every continent. Only rhinoceroses and elephants survive. No evidence points to a lone catastrophic event causing this extinction. With flashes of dry humor, paleomammalogist MacPhee (American Museum of Natural History;{amp}nbsp;Race to the End) critiques competing theories invoking climate change or human overkill. Neither explanation is completely supported by scientific understanding of known geologic, archeological, and fossil evidence. The question of whether the die-off was the result of yet another single process, or of an unfortunate coincidence of multiple stressors, is currently unresolved. The author's tone and style is most appropriate for readers who already possess a broad general knowledge of natural history and the scientific process. A brief glossary helps with occasionally unavoidable technical terminology.