Europe isn’t known for its elephants. At least, the three species of elephant that traverse Earth today — the African elephants Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis and the Asian elephant Elephas maximus — aren’t famous for wandering through Europe. But not too long ago, the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus lived throughout the continent, leaving a lasting trace on the European terrain.
An April 2025 study in Frontiers in Biogeography takes another look at these extinct herbivores, which were wiped out by human hunting during the last Ice Age between around 50,000 and 34,000 years ago. Recreating their range and reconstructing their habitats, the new study finds that the current climate conditions of Europe could still suit the straight-tusked elephant, that is, if these elephants were actually around today.
Read More: Neanderthals Hunted and Ate Straight-Tusked Elephants
Current potential distribution of the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in Europe. The coloring represents ...
