The Ice Age was when the Earth was full of gigantic ice spreads and immense climatic changes, accounting for creating the truly unique and well-fitted animals of that period. It refers to a period in history when the Earth experienced significantly decreased temperatures. This resulted in giant areas of the Earth being covered by continental ice sheets and glaciers.
Extinct Ice Age Animals
Quaternary Megafaunal Extinction was when most of the large animals of the Ice Age had become extinct. This is because of the combined effects of climatic changes and human factors. Examples of extinct ice age animals include:
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoths were one of the Ice Age’s most iconic extinct animals. Covered in a thick layer of fur and having extremely long, curved tusks, they roamed in Eurasia and North America.
Giant Ground Sloth
Also known as megatherium, the giant ground sloth was a giant ground sloth that reached 6 meters in length and lived in South America.
Glyptodon
The largest armadillo, sometimes known as a glyptodont, lived in South America. It had a protective shell on its back, much like the herbivorous armadillos.
Saber-Toothed Cat
It is known for its elongated, saber-shaped canines. Smilodon was atop the food chain, a mighty predator preying upon mammoths and bison.
Marsupial Lion
Marsupial lion is colloquially known as “thylacoleo.” It was a large marsupial predator that preyed on large Australian herbivores.
Mastodon
Similar to mammoths in appearance but having teeth of another kind of structure, mastodons were herbivorous tree-dwellers who roamed around North and Central America.
Irish Elk
One of the largest deer species, known for its enormous antlers, the Irish elk is an extinct species formerly distributed throughout Europe and Asia.
American Lion
American lion was a larger relative of modern lions and more robust. It got its name because it was native to North America.
Short-Faced Bear
This long-legged and short-faced bear was one of the biggest mammalian predators on land in North America.
Dire Wolf
Dire wolves were larger and more robust than modern wolves. As such, they were the apex predators in North America.
Giant Goanna
This giant monitor lizard lived in Australia and was among the largest terrestrial lizards to have ever existed.
Giant Sea Cow
It was a large herbivorous marine mammal that lived in the Arctic waters of the North Pacific and became extinct due to excessive hunting by humans in the 18th century.
Diprotodon
The diprotodon was the biggest marsupial that had ever lived. It was a giant herbivore and looked like a giant wombat. Diprotodons lived in Australia.
Scimitar-Toothed Cat
This predator was smaller, with shorter canines than the saber-toothed cat, and inhabited parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
Thylacine
Better known as the Tasmanian tiger, this marsupial predator lived in Australia and New Guinea.
Wooly Rhinoceros
This huge herbivore with two horns was covered with thick fur and lived in the cold steppes of Europe and Asia.
Giant Beaver
This enormous giant beaver lived in North America. It was characterized by its large incisor teeth.
Steppe Bison
This old bison species lived in the steppes of Europe, Asia, and North America during the Ice Age.
Flat-Headed Peccary
A pig-like mammal, flattened in the skull and long-limbed, roamed North and Central America during the Ice Age.
Stegodon
The Stegodon is an Asian elephant-looking animal with long, straight tusks and a more primitive trunk than the modern elephant.
Existing Ice Age Animals
While the majority of the iconic ice age animals are long extinct, some still exist to date. They include:
Horses
While such wild horses as Przewalski’s horse have their immediate ancestors dating back to the Ice Age, domestic horses are a far more widespread legacy.
American Bison
Although bison were hugely spread out by the time of the Ice Age, they are to this day an emblem of the North American plains; their range and numbers have reduced considerably.
Wolverine
This mighty carnivore is a creature of the cold and persists to this day in northern boreal forests and tundra.
Reindeer
These deer species are cold-adapted and remain resident in the Arctic and sub-Arctic parts of North America, Europe, and Asia.
Bearded Seal
The species of this Arctic seal, adapted to icy waters, had a lineage dating back to the Ice Age.
Saiga Antelope
This characteristic antelope with a large, bulbous nose manages to exist in the steppes of Central Asia, although its populations have declined drastically.
Mountain Goat
This species, adapted to mountainous and rugged terrain, had ancestors as far back as the Ice Age and still inhabits mountainous parts of North America.
Pronghorn
This unique North American ungulate weathered the Ice Age and still occupies much of the open plains and deserts of the western United States and Canada.
Elk
These large herbivores continue to enjoy considerable success in North America, Europe, and Asian boreal and temperate forests.
Gray Wolf
Gray wolves were widely distributed during the Ice Age and remained in most habitats in the Northern Hemisphere.
Narwhal
It belongs to the Arctic species of whales that survived the Ice Age. It is characterized by its long, spiraling tusk.
Walrus
With those iconic tusks, walruses have been adapted well to Arctic and sub-Arctic waters.
Polar Bear
These are Arctic apex predators with a history dating back to the Ice Age itself, and they are also very well adapted to life on sea ice.
Vole
Voles are small, burrowing rodents with habitats ranging from tundras to grasslands and large burrow systems. This helped to aerate soils and provided habitat for other animals.
Gastropods
The gastropods are a class of mollusks that contain the normalized groups known as snails and slugs. They contribute to the soil’s health and act as prey.
Brachiopods
These are the marine animals with hard shell-like structures. While brachiopods were more diverse during earlier geological periods, some species played their roles in marine ecosystems as filter feeders.
Gopher
Gophers are burrowing rodents, well-known for their huge underground tunnel systems.
Bivalves
Mollusks with two-part hinged shells, like clams, oysters, and mussels, are called bivalves.
Tapir
The tapir is a large, herbivorous mammal with a distinctive snout, usually linked to tropical rainforests.
Badger
Badgers are diggers, long-bodied carnivores specialized in digging.
