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Woolly mammoth , the extinct animal

The woolly mammoth or Mammuthus Primigenius is an extinct species . Here are some facts about this –

1.This is an extinct species lived during the Pleistocene era until its extinction in early Holocene epoch.

2. The mammoth was identified as an extinct species of elephant in 1796 by Georges Cuvier.

3.Discovered frozen carcasses of this mammoth in Siberia and Alaska and also skeletons, teeth, dung, stomach contents and depiction from life in prehistoric cave painting helped to a better study about this.

4. They became known to European in 17th century but well known in asia before this.

5.They were well adapted to cold environment. they were covered with fur, long dark brown guard hairs in outer cover up to 50 cm long and a shorter woolly , yellowish brown undercoat of dark to light colour of 2.5 cm thickness. Its ears and tail were short for minimizing frostbite and heat loss.

6. The skull of this animals were high and domelike.

7. It had long tusks and four molars. They used their tusks and trunk for fighting, foraging and manipulation of objects.

8. They were almost similar in size as modern elephants. The males were almost up to 3.4 to 4 meters in shoulder heights and weighted almost up to 6 metric tons and the females were almost 2.6 to 2.9 meters in shoulder height and weighted almost up to 4 metric tons.

9. It was adapted to a diet of grasses and sedges.

10. An individual could live up to 60 years of age.

11. They were disappeared from mainland 10000 years ago and they were isolated in St. Paul Island until 5600 years ago and in Wrangel Island until 4000 years ago.

12. They were co existed with humans. Human used its bones and tusks for making tools, dwelling, and arts. They also hunted them for food. After its extinction its ivory was used by men s a raw material.

13. The closest relatives of this species living in the earth is Asian Elephants.

14. It has been proposed to recreate the mammoth with modern Genomic Biotechnology . Mammoth is taken for this because it is one of the extinct species whose close relative is still living in the earth. Scientists are trying to do this to use their research for helping present species of elephants to adapted with the climatic change. That will open a new era of science.

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