Researchers have created the first estimate of how the world’s mammal diversity map would have appeared if modern man had never existed. The current world map of mammal diversity by a team from Aarhus University looked at where animals are likely to live if mankind didn’t exist In particular, their revised world map reveals more mammal diversity in North and South America, Africa’s many species, they say, is not due climate, but because it is only place humans haven’t wiped them out.

If homo sapiens had never come into existence and spread across the globe, large mammals like giant sloths and ancient horses animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses, would roam the Americas researchers said, would dominate and most of northern Europe would probably now be home to not only wolves, as shown in the map below. (The scale depicts the number of large mammal species that would have existed, where red means more species.)

Role of humans:

The findings show just how big of a role humans have played in the extinction of mega-fauna around the world, the researchers say, the species that are still alive today, the researchers used historical estimates of animal populations. For extinct species, they estimated the numbers of these animals based on those of other species that were alive at the same time. If humans didn’t exist, the diversity of animals – especially large mammals – would have been much greater in many parts of the world, the researchers found.

How the world would be without humans?

The landscape might have looked pretty different too. The more large animals you have, the more trees they knock down, resulting in grasslands like the African savanna. ‘Instead it reflects that it’s one of the only places where human activities have not yet wiped out most of the large animals.’ The existence of Africa’s many species of mammals, they say, is not due to an optimal climate and environment, but because it is the only place where they have not yet been eradicated by humans.

‘The current high level of biodiversity in mountainous areas is partly due to the fact that the mountains have acted as a refuge for species in relation to hunting and habitat destruction, rather than being a purely natural pattern,’ said Faurby. ‘An example in Europe is the brown bear, which now virtually only live in mountainous regions because it has been exterminated from the more accessible and most often more densely populated lowland areas.’ The researchers claim the latest can provide an important base-line for nature restoration and conservation. Still, the effects of humans on the diversity of animals is probably an underestimate. “Humans are influencing everything to some extent,” Faurby said.