Did Pollen Allergies Cause Woolly Mammoths' Extinction? New Study Proposes a Surprising Theory

A recent study suggests that pollen allergies may have contributed to the woolly mammoths' extinction by impairing their sense of smell and communication during crucial mating periods.

Highlights

• Pollen may have disrupted mammoth communication during mating season
• Study suggests allergies might have impacted mammoths' ability to survive
• Experts remain sceptical about the pollen allergy hypothesis

Woolly mammoths have long been thought to have disappeared due to a combination of factors, such as climate change and human activity. However, a recent study proposes an unexpected hypothesis: pollen allergies may have played a role in their extinction. The study suggests that at the end of the last Ice Age, a surge in vegetation led to excessive pollen production. This may have triggered allergic reactions in mammoths, impacting their sense of smell. Since mammoths relied heavily on smell for various vital functions, such as finding food, evading predators, and locating mates, pollen-related allergies could have severely disrupted these abilities.

Could Allergies Explain Extinction?

Researchers argue that this impairment during mating season may have made it difficult for mammoths to communicate and breed, contributing to a sharp population decline. However, further testing, including examining fossilized mammoth remains for immune proteins associated with allergic responses, is needed to confirm this theory.

Scepticism Around the Hypothesis

While the study presents a compelling narrative, not all experts are convinced. Evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch, for example, points out that mammoth extinction is more likely to have been caused by a combination of environmental shifts and human hunting. Until more concrete evidence emerges, the pollen allergy theory remains an intriguing but debated topic in mammoth research.