The largest land animal species presently to be found in Great Britain is the Red Stag; after that, the Roe Deer, a few smaller deer, then the Badger and the Fox. However not so very long ago – a few thousand years or so, one would have seen a vastly different megafauna; Woolly Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, Cave Lion, Cave Hyaena, and (my personal favorite) Irish Elk all roamed the ‘Sceptered Isle. So what happened to them? Why are they no longer to be seen – in Britain or anywhere, for that matter?
In his recently published The Missing Lynx, Dr. Ross Barnett presents what is know of the lives of these fascinating recently extinct members of the British megafauna, as well as examines some recent programs seeking the reintroduction of others, such as the Beaver, into a land from which they had previously been extirpated.
I have already begun reading this intriguing book and am finding it absolutely captivating. Look for a complete review of it here very soon.
