By Tim Binnall
Researchers believe that they have determined why an ancient species of giant ape, known as Gigantopithecus blacki, wound up going extinct long ago. Believed to have been a staggering nine feet tall and weighing a whopping 450 to 650 pounds, the monstrous primates reportedly made their home in southern China millions of years ago until they ultimately died out and left behind a mystery for modern scientists who have struggled to explain their demise. However, an exhaustive new study aimed at answering that question has seemingly revealed what led to the enormous ape vanishing from the planet.
Calling the creature "an enigma in paleontology," paleontologist Yingqi Zhang marveled that the "unresolved cause of its disappearance has become the Holy Grail in this discipline." He observed that the extinction of Gigantopithecus has been particularly puzzling to scientists as it died out "at a time when other primates were adapting and surviving." In tackling the mystery, researchers first set about determining when exactly the species' time on the planet came to an end. By using an array of comprehensive dating techniques, they can confidently state that the creature went extinct around 295,000 to 215,000 years ago
The researchers then sought to understand the environmental conditions of the giant ape's habitat during that time. An examination of the fossil record as well as tooth specimens from throughout the period leading up to Gigantopithecus' extinction showed that the creature experienced a significant and deleterious change in diet that was brought about by seasonal disruptions that upended its previously reliable sources of food. Over time, they posit, the giant ape could not adapt to its new environment and dwindled away until the species was no more. That said, some cryptozoologists contend that Gigantopithecus or an offshoot of the enormous primate may have somehow survived in the form of what we know as Bigfoot today.