Acoastal forest was home to a type of burrowing rodent that was not found anywhere else in the world. a year ago, a species of large predator moved to the forest, but the rodents were able to escape by hiding in narrow underground tunnels. recently, a hurricane flooded most of the forest. a few days later, scientists studying the area found that no members of this species remained. which best describes why the species became extinct? a natural disaster killed off the population by flooding their habitat. large predators moved to the area where the rodents lived. they had no genetic variation so they could not adapt to changes in the habitat. they were not big enough to compete with the new, larger species for food.