IRISH ELK DEER
The
Irish Elk Deer became extinct many years ago. The Irish Elk Deer lived in Eurasia and Africa, but it was most commonly found in Ireland. The Irish Elk Deer lived around 11,000 years ago before they became extinct. It was about 7 feet tall to the shoulders with about 12 foot long antlers. Their antlers weighed about 90 pounds. These large antlers were a result of sexual selection. Female Irish Elk would select the males with the largest and biggest antlers. The females wanted the male to have large antlers to protect her and her offspring and to kill any predators that would approach her. Males would often compete against each other using their antlers to win over a female mate. The trait of the giant antlers was passed down from parent to offspring. Overtime the antlers of the Irish Elk Deer continued to become larger and larger than the generation before it. The feature of large antlers became so over exaggerated that the antlers became too heavy for the Irish Elk’s body. The Irish Elk Deer could no longer stand up which lead to the extinction of their species. Therefore the
cause of the extinction of the Irish Elk Deer was a result of sexual selection. Although sexual selection was the main factor that contributed to Irish Elk Deer’s extinction human hunting may also be another reason why the species became extinct.
