How would the Earth be different today if humans hadn't been born? Will it be a giant planet?

Scientists have carried out research on this topic, and they have painted a planet of pristine wilderness and rich species . There are parts that are familiar to humans, but more scenes we've never seen before. Australian paleontologist Trevor Worthy said that, in his view, the Earth without humans would be a world with more vegetation and more species of animals. Wildlife will be found on all continents except Antarctica.

The history of human development in ancient times can be understood as an "eating and broadcasting documentary", and there are countless species that have been eaten to extinction by us. Such as the dodo (Raphus cucullatus), the Smanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus, thylacine), these species were driven to extinction by human activities.

Studies have shown that the birth of humans has increased the extinction rate of species on earth by more than 100 times. And this extinction rate is the highest since the Cretaceous to Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event (an extinction event that wiped out 80 percent of species and none of the non-avian dinosaurs), which means that The destructive power of humans is equivalent to an asteroid that destroys the world, and the damage caused by humans continues.

It's not difficult to understand this, because our great-grandparents could still see animals in the mountains and forests, but animals became rare in our parents' generation. In our day and age, it is extremely fortunate to see animals in the mountains. It turns out that we are still encroaching on the living space of other creatures on Earth.

Scientists predict that if there were no humans, there may be many giant creatures on the earth today. For example, the extinct moa, a creature that resembles an ostrich. Their body length can reach 3.6 meters, and there are at least 9 species. The main distribution area is New Zealand. On the moa food chain, there is also the giant Hast eagle (Hieraaetus moorei), which hunts the moa. This creature has a wingspan of about 3 meters. Then there is the giant parrot, Heracles unexpatus, about the size of a 2-year-old.

The above-mentioned creatures have existed in New Zealand for millions of years, but after humans arrived in New Zealand 750 years ago, these species disappeared within 200 years. Studies have shown that this is directly related to unsustainable hunting by humans and species invasions caused by humans.

Sören Faurby, a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said humans played a key role in the extinction of Earth's large mammals. Sören Faurby published a paper in 2015 arguing that without humans, the Earth should become a Serengeti-like ecosystem, full of life.

Data show that the Serengeti's surviving elephants, rhinos and lions existed in Europe 12,000 years ago. Elephant-like species and giant bear species exist in the American continent, such as car-sized armadillo species and giant ground sloths (the prototype of Beamon giants), as well as the well-known mammoth giant.

Statistics show that about 38 species of large animals have disappeared in the Americas. It used to be thought that the harsh climate of the Ice Age caused them to disappear, but new research shows that without humans, mammoths are likely to survive to this day

So on a planet without humans, there will be more large mammals, not only more species, but also bigger because they have a vast habitat.

In addition, Christopher Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University, reasoned that the entire planet would be more ecologically productive without humans. Because the feeding and defecation of large animals is the main way that the primordial planet moves seeds and nutrients, due to their disappearance, the physical transfer of elements such as phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, which are crucial to life, has been reduced by more than 90%.

In other words, without humans, the earth's land would be more fertile. This means that nature will produce more fruits and flowers, which will make the earth look more fantastic, and at the same time can feed more animals.

Of course, a planet without humans would most likely have a different climate. Because of the needs of modern civilization, humans burn a large amount of fossil fuels, resulting in a global warming of 1 degree Celsius. Data shows that without humans, the planet may have entered another ice age because global warming has delayed the next ice age by at least 100,000 years.

In short, the earth without human beings should be a gorgeous garden full of giant beasts, which is full of vitality and wildness. In the next article, we will continue to chat about science and technology. Interested friends remember to pay attention to Fat Cat.