An international group of researchers who have studied the morphology of the natural environment of the interglacial period between 132,000 and 110,000 years ago has proposed the possibility of bringing groups of elephants and rhinos , among other species, to the European continent so that they roam freely in the territory.
According to the study, which has been led by Danish scientists at the University of Aarhus and appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , large mammals such as proboscidia shaped the landscape of European prehistory.
From the analysis of the dung beetles found in elephant dung, they have deduced that these insects were much more abundant in the interglacial era mentioned than in the most recent interglacial period, which took place 10,000 to 5,000 years ago.
According to the British biologist Chris Sandom, from the University of Oxford, who has also participated in the research, the ecosystems of that distant prehistory were made up of a varied set of forests and green areas .
His Danish colleague Jens-Christian Svenning notes that the number of large wild animals decreased considerably after the entry of modern man, which they have deduced from the fossils of beetles found.
The result of human presence was that forests became denser at first, then began to clear after the invention of agriculture.
The conclusion of the researchers is that more ecosystems could be created and biodiversity increased in Europe by bringing in large herbivores and wild cattle, such as bison, elephants and rhinos, capable of maintaining a varied vegetation in a temperate climate such as Europe.
