Question 1

Why did avocados almost go extinct?

Accepted Answer

Avocados evolved to be eaten and dispersed by giant Ice Age animals like ground sloths, which swallowed the large seed whole. When those megafauna went extinct around 13,000 years ago, the avocado lost its only natural seed-spreader and should have died out.

Question 2

What animal originally ate avocados?

Accepted Answer

Large Pleistocene mammals known as megafauna, especially giant ground sloths and gomphotheres, ate avocados whole and dispersed their seeds. These animals were big enough to swallow the enormous pit and carry it far from the parent tree before depositing it.

Question 3

How did avocados survive after their disperser went extinct?

Accepted Answer

Humans saved them. Ancient Mesoamericans gathered, planted, and protected wild avocado trees, effectively replacing the extinct giants as the fruit's seed-spreader. By around 5,000 years ago people were cultivating avocados in Mexico.

natural-history

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The Fruit That Outlived Its Giant