According to National Geographic, mammoths roamed the cold tundra of Europe, Asia, and North America from about 300,000 years ago up until about 4,000 years ago, when they became extinct.
While until now, we had assumed that the warming of the planet following the ice age had been responsible for the giant animals dying en masse, a team of scientists have found that while this is true, it could also be down to, uh, allergies.
A team of chemists and zoologists revealed in their paper published in the journal Earth History and Biodiversity, that antibodies and allergens were identified in the tissue samples of frozen mammoths, suggesting they may have had difficulty finding mates due to a loss of smell.
This loss of smell is thought to have been caused by an increase in pollen, associated with the blooming of new plants and grassland, which could have had a significant impact on their senses.
According to the study’s authors: “The reduction of the population of certain animal species could be related to mechanisms that violate the sensitivity of odours and, consequently, determine a decrease in the likelihood of finding a sexual partner during the mating period.
“These mechanisms could be due to pollen allergies, plant toxins, or plant metabolites.”
Devastatingly, this loss of smell could have also impacted their ability to find sources of food and water, too.
However, this isn’t definitive and according to the science experts over at IFL Science: “The theory doesn’t attempt to rule out the other common explanations for the mammoth’s extinction, such as habitat loss, overhunting by humans, disease, and inbreeding.
“It’s likely that there were many cruel twists of fate that led to their eventual extinction. However, the new study does put forward the fascinating idea that hay fever may have been an overlooked factor in their passing.”
Wild.