No Surprise Here: Humans, not climate, account for Disappearance of Pleistocene Megafauna

Humans, not climate, to blame for Ice Age-era disappearance of large mammals, study concludes

This poor author would have been shocked if the research pointed in ANY other direction. Heck, even though I am but a lowly semiconductor engineer, I have long thought that the latest mass extinction event was due to human activity; and just not since the Maori dined on the last Moa. We're apex predators, and the extinction vector(time of extinction and human migratory activities) of large land faunae just fit too well to dismiss the most likely factor in the onset of the Holocene Extinction Event. One could further speculate at this point that the period under the latest finding likely does not extend far enough back into time, as pre-modern hominids were likely also thinning populations of large terrestrial vertebrates to the point of no longer being able to sustain mating practices. With very few exceptions, the notion of the "noble savage" is wholly unwarranted.

I have been arguing the reason behind the megafauna extinction point with people in the field for several decades. Some have been in total agreement, others outright denial. What is really no longer open for debate is that "we" are causing, and being witness to, the sixth mass extinction event known to afflict this planet.

It is my hope that we are smart enough to start to curb species extinctions now. Our history here isn't at all promising.

The one thing we should give our children is a planet worthy of their custodial duty. It is our collective duty to make this a reality. Whilst my fingers are crossed, the rainforests burn, and the oceans become less able to trap atmospheric carbon as both surface temperatures rise, and plankton dies. There's no reason to be optimistic. But still, we must do whatever we can to mitigate the decline of the planet's toxification and subsequent species destruction.