Rabbits, Neanderthal Extinction Linked In New Study

Why did Neanderthals become extinct? Scientists have offered a variety of theories, from climate change and cataclysmic volcanic eruptions to interbreeding with modern humans. But a new study puts at least some of the blame on bunnies. Or, to be more specific, on Neanderthals' apparent inability to exploit the "high-biomass prey resource" of rabbits when prehistoric deer and other large prey mammals became scarce on the Iberian Peninsula.