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Mystery of giant ape solved - 2nd February 2024

Why did the world's largest ape die out? According to exciting new research, the cause was climate change.

‘Gigantopithecus' was an enormous creature, which stood at three metres tall and weighed 300 kilograms. Until it died 200,000 years ago, its home was the forests of southern Asia. However, the reason for its death has been one of science's great mysteries.

The mystery began in the 1930s when a strange tooth was found which was four times larger than a regular ape's tooth. While almost 2,000 similar ape teeth have turned up since, the explanation for the animal's death has remained unclear.

Professor Zhang Yingqi, who co-wrote the report, researched Gigantopithecus using several methods. One involved recreating its home environment, up to its appearance, while it existed and following its disappearance.

Zhang Yingqi: "The cause of Gigantopithecus’s extinction is mainly the stress. Because when the environments changed, the food that Gigantopithecus preferred became less, and less, less, I mean the variety, both the variety and the quantity became less. So Gigantopithecus didn’t have enough food, preferred food to eat."

Unlike its close relative, the orangutan, Gigantopithecus' size meant it was unable to cross long distances in search of other food. Professor Zhang believes that eating the local food, which was of poor quality, led to the death of the species.

Zhang Yingqi: "So he made a huge mistake by relying on the fall-back food, which is a very fibrous and less nutritious food. So, the population experienced, experienced, experienced chronic long-term stress. So the population became smaller and smaller and finally he went extinct."

With current climate problems, the loss of Gigantopithecus is worth considering today.