1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826076303321

Autore

Levy Sharon <1959->

Titolo

Once & future giants [[electronic resource] ] : what Ice Age extinctions tell us about the fate of earth's largest animals / / Sharon Levy

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford ; ; New York, : Oxford University Press, c2011

ISBN

0-19-026776-3

1-283-02050-5

9786613020505

0-19-970842-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (274 p.)

Disciplina

576.8/4

Soggetti

Extinction (Biology)

Hunting, Prehistoric

Mammals - Conservation

Mammals - Effect of human beings on

Paleoecology - Pleistocene

Paleontology - Pleistocene

Prehistoric peoples

Wildlife conservation

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-246) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Illustrations; Prologue; ELEGY FOR THE MASTODON; MAMMOTH TRACKS; GIANTS DOWN UNDER; WILD DREAMS; WILD REALITIES; THE BIG HEAT; DEAD BEASTS WALKING; Epilogue; Acknowledgments; Notes; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Until about 13,000 years ago, North America was home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and foraged on the marsh land now buried beneath Chicago's streets. Then, just as the first humans reached the Americas, these Ice Age giants vanished forever. In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal (""megafauna"") extinction events worldwide, showing that



understanding this history--and our part in it--is crucial for protecting the