Comment Re:Pop Scientist Melodrama (Score 1) 854
It was too late for the Norse in Greenland once they ate their last cow
Actually, it was too late rather earlier than that, when they ate the last bull or cow. They could have had hundreds of cows left, but without a bull, ain't a-gonna be no more cows. Unless they had cows that reproduce by fission.
And to turn a casual joke into a more serious point: it was also too late when their breeding population of cattle dropped below certain critical limits (i.e., the gene pool became too small for long-term survival). "Too late" can actually occur quite early on.
Actually, it was too late rather earlier than that, when they ate the last bull or cow. They could have had hundreds of cows left, but without a bull, ain't a-gonna be no more cows. Unless they had cows that reproduce by fission.
And to turn a casual joke into a more serious point: it was also too late when their breeding population of cattle dropped below certain critical limits (i.e., the gene pool became too small for long-term survival). "Too late" can actually occur quite early on.