The land bridge connecting Britain to the European mainland was severed 6,500 years ago, but Ireland had broken off from Britain several thousands years earlier. This allowed only some species from the mainland to cross the land bridge. Snakes, being slower in colonizing new areas, did not have time to cross into Ireland.
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Megaloceros giganteus - The Irish elk appeared 400,000 years ago and could be found from Ireland to Siberia and into Northern Africa. It stood over 2 meters at the shoulders and carried a rack of antlers with a spread of over 3.5 meters, the largest of any known cervid. With massive antlers and long powerful legs, the elk could out run or successfully face the few predators daring to challenge. The Irish elk became extinct 8,000 years ago. It could not escape early human hunters nor the environmental issues occurring in the Late Pleistocene.
