Proboscideans: A Real Term?

“If elephants didn’t exist, you couldn’t invent one. They belong to a small group of living things so unlikely they challenge credulity and common sense.” — Lyall Watson

Yes, "Proboscideans" is indeed a term you might be familiar with without knowing it. This taxonomic order, Proboscidea, includes the two surviving species of elephants — Asian and African — as well as extinct relatives like mammoths, mastodons, and gomphotheres.

These animals are characterized by their large size and trunks. Many, such as the woolly mammoth, also had thick fur. All Proboscideans are herbivorous and use their trunks to forage for food and water.

Today, most people see elephants in zoos or, regrettably, in circuses. A fortunate few may encounter them in the wild, as they have become increasingly rare. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, African elephants are classified as vulnerable, while Asian elephants are endangered.

This wasn’t always the case; once, Proboscideans were the dominant fauna.

Elephants Across the Globe

“There is no creature among all the Beasts of the world which hath so great and ample demonstration of the power and wisdom of almighty God as the Elephant.” — Edward Topsell, The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes

Proboscideans were once true global citizens. Research indicates that these creatures thrived in various environments across all continents, except Antarctica and Australia. Genetic studies show that there were once 164 species, despite only two surviving today.

“They occurred in all types of biomes, from tropical rain forests and savannas to temperate steppes and prairies, from temperate forests to Mediterranean woodlands and the arctic tundra. There were dwarf or dwarfish elephants on the Californian islands, in the Mediterranean, in Japan, and on various islands in Indonesia. Although this richness of large animals now seems strange, for millions of years, their abundance was part of the typical state of our world.” — Jens-Christian Svenning, “Historical Megafaunas: A historical perspective on the potential for a wilder anthropocene”

To clarify, it wasn't just elephants; an array of large animals once roamed the Earth. Ground sloths in the Appalachian Mountains, rhinoceroses in Europe, and giant marsupials in Australia were commonplace. Nowadays, even spotting a deer crossing the road feels like a significant event.

These large creatures are referred to as megafauna, defined as species weighing over 100 pounds. Elephants certainly fit this description. Once, large animals were widespread, but during the late Quaternary extinctions, most megafauna, including elephants, nearly vanished.

The Cause of Their Decline: Modern Humans

“We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate what we consider the finest human traits: empathy, self-awareness, and social intelligence. But the way we treat them puts on display the very worst of human behavior.” — Graydon Carter

As you might suspect, humans played a role in the extinction of these magnificent creatures. Two primary theories explain the rapid decline of megafauna: climate change and human population growth.

The Overkill Hypothesis

TLDR: This theory is more widely accepted.

As humans migrated out of Africa, the need for food led them to hunt. Collaborating, modern humans and their ancestors effectively hunted larger prey, resulting in significant declines in large animal populations.

Geoscientist Paul Martin proposed the overkill hypothesis, suggesting that as humans spread across continents, they exterminated large animal species for food and as a preemptive measure against threats.

Recent studies bolster this theory, revealing that during the late Quaternary extinction, surviving animals were 100 to 1000 times smaller than those that perished. This unprecedented size-selective extinction points to human actions as the primary cause.

Ed Yong succinctly states, “when we’re around, big animals die.”

And indeed, the Proboscideans suffered greatly.

Conserving Animals from Human Impact

Wherever humans go, animals face danger. Our history is riddled with instances of extinction caused by human activity; we are evolving into agents of extermination.

The plight of elephants is representative of a broader trend. Modern Homo sapiens and our ancestors have led to a decline in biodiversity. A 2014 study highlighted the severity of the situation.

“We live amid a global wave of anthropogenically driven biodiversity loss: species and population extirpations and, critically, declines in local species abundance. Particularly, human impacts on animal biodiversity are an under-recognized form of global environmental change.” — Dirzo et al, “Defaunation in the Anthropocene”

Since 1500, 322 terrestrial vertebrate species have gone extinct, while remaining populations of vertebrates have consistently declined by an average of 25%. And this is just based on existing data.

The study's authors express concern not about the loss of new species, but about the far-reaching consequences that will arise from these extinctions, effects we have yet to fully comprehend. We are approaching a tipping point beyond which changes may become irreversible.

The most pressing issues we can address include overhunting and land use practices. Stricter regulations on animal exploitation are necessary. Additionally, we must heed the needs of other species we share this planet with. This involves ceasing industrial and residential encroachment and returning some areas to their wild state.

Humans are driving animals toward an unseen precipice. It is our responsibility to use our intelligence to change this trajectory.