Irish elk survived after ice age ended
By Sid Perkins
New fossil finds indicate that the Irish elk, previously thought to have gone extinct at the end of the last ice age, survived in some spots for several millennia more.
Megaloceros giganteus actually was a giant deer that stood more than 2.1 meters high at the shoulder, about the size of today’s bull moose. Antlers sported by male Irish elk spanned up to about 3.6 meters (almost 12 feet) and weighed about 40 kilograms (88 pounds), says Anthony J. Stuart of University College London.