Cross Breeds

Why is it that many African animals that humans lived alongside with are not extinct?

I've seen some questions like this but I want a good answer. Why is it that many African animals that HUMANS LIVED ALONGSIDE WITH are not extinct? Is it because the animals are adaptable? Is it because that people there have became respectful to animals quickly? Or is it because Africa was not affected by the Ice Age and only few animals became extinct?

Public Comments

1. I think many animals such as the Mastodon were not used to people predating on them and were therefore more susceptible to predation. Elephants for example had a long time to evolve with humans and learned how to cope with them. I have heard it said that hunting an elephant is more like going to war because they are so intelligent.
2. The question, "Why did a certain animal become extinct?" makes good sense whether it can be answered or not. However, the question, "Why is an animal not extinct?" can have only one, very obvious answer: Environmental conditions permit its continued existence. Maybe there was no ice age, no desertification of a tropical landscape, no large asteroid strike, no overwhelming invasion by alien plants and animals, no overhunting by humans, no radical change in ocean currents, no major climatic changes, no long period of vulcanism, no evolution of new competitors, no evolution of important predators, and so on and on. The list is about as long as you wish it to be.
3. The mega fauna etc.that could be there and was subjected to the whims of humans, went by the wayside long ago. Whereas those parts of the world that had limited human occupation until recently, the disappearance is recent.
4. Before the humans interfered, it was all survival of the fittest. In fact it still is as humans are the biggest threat to most species as they can decide on life of death of most of the other species. By controlling environments they can support certain animals or deplete their numbers. Some species have easily adapted to human influence, e.g. seagulls stealing from your plate when outdoor dining and eating the leftovers.... If humans have decided that a certain species is useful they can hunt it till extinction. That is what happened mostly previous centuries, or they introduced new species into places where local animals didn't have any defense. So there lot of factors to consider but in the end it all comes back to adaptability of the species and the use people saw in them. Hope this helps!