Walrus exodus could be the reason for the Vikings vanishing

♦ The last Viking settlements may have vanished after walruses moved to safer shores to avoid being hunted for their ivory, a study suggests.

Norse communities founded by Erik the Red flourished in Greenland for 500 years but then suddenly disappeared in the late 15th century, leaving towns and villages abandoned.

Now scientists at Cambridge University think they have solved the mystery. Norse economy relied so heavily on the ivory trade that when supply and demand slumped they had no other way to make a living and were forced to leave. Research published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests that centuries of hunting walrus may have led the animals to stop congregating in large groups on Greenland’s shores.

The fashion for walrus ivory may also have dimmed by the end of the Middle Ages, while the Black Death which was sweeping Europe is likely to have wiped out huge numbers of customers.

As Mediterranean trade routes brought in fresh supplies of elephant ivory and supplies from walruses grew short, the Norse communities found they could no longer survive.