Genetic bottlenecks and hunting drove aurochs extinction in Scandinavia
A new study reveals that aurochs vanished from Scandinavia thousands of years earlier than elsewhere in Europe due to a combination of genetic bottlenecks, intense hunting, and habitat loss. Researchers analyzed ancient DNA from bones found in bogs and settlement sites in southern Sweden and Denmark to reconstruct the population history of these wild cattle ancestors. The findings indicate that while the species survived globally until the 17th century, the Scandinavian population collapsed around 6,500 years ago. This early extinction was driven by a sharp drop in genetic diversity during their initial migration north, followed by isolation when rising seas flooded land bridges to mainland Europe. Concurrently, increased human settlement and hunting pressure, combined with the expansion of dense forests that reduced grazing land, led to the final disappearance of the species in the region.