During the last Ice Age, hippos lived in the Upper Rhine Valley between Frankfurt and Basel. Today, these warm-loving animals are only found in Africa. However, recent excavations in the region have uncovered fossils of these creatures, indicating that they once roamed in what is now Germany. Until now, it was believed that the last hippos disappeared from the Upper Rhine Valley around 116,000 years ago, at the end of the last warm period. However, thanks to a grant from the Klaus Tschira Foundation, scientists from the Mannheim Reiss-Engelhorn Museums have re-dated 30 prehistoric hippo fossils found in the region. The results show that hippos lived in the area between 48,000 and 30,000 years ago, long after the end of the warm period.
The findings challenge previous assumptions about the environment during the last Ice Age in southwest Germany. The fossils suggest that hippos lived in a typical Ice Age fauna, alongside mammoths, cave lions, and woolly rhinoceroses. The scientists believe that the hippos were able to adapt to the cold temperatures and environmental conditions of the Upper Rhine Valley during the Ice Age. The mild climate and abundant plant life in the region likely provided suitable conditions for the animals to thrive. Isotope analysis of the hippo fossils also revealed that the animals had access to sufficient plant-based food sources, in addition to water.
The discovery of these fossils sheds new light on the history of the Upper Rhine Valley and its inhabitants during the last Ice Age. The region was not only a refuge for warm-loving species during the cold period, but it also supported a diverse range of flora and fauna. The well-preserved fossils provide valuable insights into the past and help us better understand the evolution of life on Earth.
