Eberle speculates the land-bound creatures evolved a unique digestive system. Dead plant matter is mostly low in nutritional value, so the animals must have compensated each winter by eating huge amounts of food, and thoroughly digesting it. "In a way this is a case of truth being stranger than fiction. We don't have an ecosystem like this extinct ecosystem. It's amazing how resistant to changes in light these animals can be," Christopher Beard of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said. Of Eberle's theory he added: "It's a persuasive, interesting hypothesis," though he stressed that it's still far from certain. As human-induced global warming invades the Arctic in coming years, Eberle expects animals will again move north into the thawing Arctic wastes. But she says it's unlikely alligators or hippos will soon return; the early Eocone climate of Ellesmere was drastically warmer than present day, averaging temperatures 25 degrees centigrade higher back then. Related Links: Discovery News blog: Earth Pub How Stuff Works: The Arctic Circle |
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