Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Once upon a time in Ireland - the Irish Elk

The Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus or Megaceros), now extinct, is the largest species of deer ever to have lived. Despite its name, it was not exclusively Irish, and during its reign it occupied open woodland and forest edges throughout Eurasia, from Ireland to China. The last one lived around 9500 years ago. Over 2 meters at the shoulders, it had the largest antlers of any deer, an impressive 3.5 meters from tip to tip - over twice the length of a bath! Their closest living relative is the Fallow Deer. In fact, Irish Elk are not closely related to either of the species we currently call elk.

Lots of Irish Elk fossils have been found in the peat bogs of Ireland. One can be seen in Ireland National Museum of Natural History.
Labels:

The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.