Well, 12,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene epoch, the scene would have been very different! Picture yourself standing at the river bank. The sparkling water flows in front of you without a sound. The breeze rustles the trees in a continuous whisper. Down the river, you hear branches snapping, and looking to your left, you see an animal emerge from the brush and take a drink at the river. But this is not just any animal, however--it is a huge mammoth! Or maybe it is not a mammoth, but a giant ground sloth with 18-inch claws! Or perhaps a giant armadillo--almost the size of a Volkswagen Beetle!
What were these animals? How do we
know they existed? Where did they come from and how did they live in Florida?
Why did they become extinct? Click on the links to the left to find
out more about megafauna in the Wekiva River basin and the surrounding region.
