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science4h ago
The 30-foot sea cow quickly hunted to extinction because of its tasty meat
- Researchers describe how Steller's sea cow reached up to 30 feet in length and weighed as much as 22,000 pounds.
- Hunters killed sea cows for meat after traders began exploiting the Bering Island population.
- Isolation after Ice Age fragmented populations, reducing reproduction and making recovery unlikely.
- Steller documented social behavior and care of calves within the herd during his expedition.
- Few complete skeletons survive, with collectors assembling bones from multiple individuals.
- The extinction concept emerged gradually, reshaping early scientific thought.
- Steller's expedition yielded the first scientific record of the sea cow.
- Hunters and traders contributed to ecological collapse beyond the sea cows themselves.
- The Nat Geo piece links the sea cow’s fate to broader debates about human impact on nature.
- The narrative emphasizes how early extinction awareness informed later scientific discovery.
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