It has been decades since we have marvelled at the discovery of the woolly mammoth's first fossil records along with that of the giant sloths, and other mega fauna. As to what really caused their extinction is something that has yet to be solved. Scientists' findings caused us to believe that they have roamed the Earth about 11,000 years ago, along with our early human ancestors. 

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Washington Post reports that the previous belief on human hunting activities being the primary reason for the extinction of the woolly mammoth and other mega fauna could be false. The real culprit could be extreme climate change that ended the ice age. 

The abrupt climate changes could have played a vital role in causing the demise and total destruction of the ancient huge creatures that roamed about 11,000 years in our planet. The international research team from the University of Adelaide as well as the University of South Wales of Australia concluded that abrupt climate change could have been too difficult to handle for the woolly mammoth and other giant species. 

CBS News also reported on the woolly mammoth extinction's latest theory.  The short and rapid warming in the climate was called as interstadials. These periods were recorded on the last ice age, or otherwise known as Pleistocene, around 12,000 to 60,000 years ago. There were many major extinctions that occurred during the last ice age. 

According to Live Science's report, these changes in the climate are strongly related to the extinction of the giant creatures. During the interstadials, the increase in temperature was between 4 to 6 degrees Celsius, which could be too much for the giant animals to handle.

Once there will be a global warming that happens, the Earth might just remain in this phase for hundreds of years before it will experience another major cooling. A major drop in the Earth's temperature could be caused by various factors which could be quite difficult to determine, explained Alan Cooper, the head of the team of researchers. 

This research on the link between the woolly mammoth's extinction and climate change could totally reverse the long held belief that human hunting caused their total extinction, said Cooper.  

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