Mammoths are a prehistoric species of large land mammals in the order Proboscidea, closely related and similar in appearance to modern-day elephants. Mammoths and other Ice Age mammals disappeared around the Pleistocene era.Berkeley.edu: About Mammoths Mammoths stood between 10 and 12 feet tall and could weigh as much as 7300 pounds.Illinois State Museum: Mammoths
A National Geographic documentary titled Waking the Baby Mammoth features the examination of a well-preserved baby mammoth dubbed "Lyuba." The show will air on Sunday, April 26, 2009.NY Daily News: Baby Mammoth Lyuba, Pristinely Preserved... (April 21, 2009
Elephant Ancestors
The largest land mammals, elephants have lived on earth for an estimated 55 million years and have existed as 500 separate species. About two million years ago, the African and Asian species of elephant, both of which continue to exist in modern times, diverged to form separate species. Shortly thereafter, mammoths, which were ultimately elephants specialized to live in cooler climates, diverged from the Asian elephant. This means that mammoths, if they were alive today, would be more closely related to the Asian elephant than the existing African elephants are.
Extinction of Mammoths
Most mammoths began to go extinct near the end of the Ice Age, when sea levels rose and transformed may of the mammoth-inhabited grasslands into forests. The human effect on mammoth extinction is a matter of contest among scientists, but fossil records have proved that the two species definitely coexisted and humans hunted and consumed mammoth meat as early as 1.8 million years ago. Climate change and human hunting were likely both contributing factors to mammoth extinction.
References
Fast Facts
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Mammoths, mastodons and elephants are a part of the order ProboscideaIllinois State Museum: Mammoths
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First described in 1799 Johann Friedrich BlumenbackBerkeley.edu: About Mammoths
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Three species of mammoths lived in north AmericaIllinois State Museum: Mammoths
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Estimated average life span
60 years
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Fossilized stomach contents have shown that mammoths ate various grasses
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Some mammoths, such as the Woolly Mammoth had long, dark hair
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Dwarf mammoths lived on Wrangel Island up to 2,000 BC
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Some scientists theorize that mammoths became extinct because of an infectious disease
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Became extinct approximately 11,000 years agoIllinois State Museum: Mammoths
