Hippos survived the last Ice Age in Europe

Hippos roamed Central Europe tens of thousands of years later than scientists previously suspected.

A study published in the journal Current Biology found that common hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) still lived in the Upper Rhine region of southwestern Germany between 47,000 and 31,000 years ago.

Until now, experts thought the species, found only in sub-Saharan Africa, disappeared from Europe around 115,000 years ago.

Researchers from the University of Potsdam analyzed Ice Age fossil beds and discovered that hippos coexisted with cold-adapted species such as mammoths and woolly rhinos.

Dr. who directed the excavation project. Wilfried Rosendahl said: “The current study provides important new information that impressively proves that the Ice Age was not the same everywhere.

“Local characteristics when put together form a complex overall picture – similar to a puzzle.”

The findings suggest that parts of Central Europe were much warmer and more habitable than once thought, allowing tropical species such as hippos to thrive before global cooling drove them to extinction in the region.