In addition, the Woolly Mammoth is often represented in drawings made by ancient people, called Paleolithic People, on the walls of caves in Europe (for example, the Rouffignac Cave, France). This animal has been the subject of a video entitled " Woolly Mammoth: The Autopsy" and much international research on that carcass has advanced our understanding of the animal. One remarkably preserved Woolly Mammoth was recently discovered as a frozen carcass in a remote part of Siberia in 2013. These remains, sometimes complete with fur, have been found where the melting permafrost released largely intact Woolly Mammoth animals! One estimate suggests that as many as 25,000 Woolly Mammoth carcasses have been found in Siberia since the year 1808 (see the book entitled " Ice Age Mammals of North America", by Ian Lange). The best preserved Woolly Mammoth remains come from areas of permafrost in Siberia and Alaska. One group lived in the middle of the high Arctic, while the other woolly mammoth group lived over a much larger range. It is thought that Woolly Mammoths lived in two groups, which lived in different types of areas. The range of the Woolly Mammoth has been defined by the locations where carcasses frozen in permafrost, bone and teeth remains, and cave drawings have been discovered. The Woolly Mammoth and the Columbian Mammoth appear to have bred with each other in the areas where they lived together ( Yukon Beringia detailed fact sheet - Woolly Mammoth). Woolly Mammoths from Alaska and Yukon had a larger cousin called the Columbian Mammoth ( Mammuthus columbianus), which lived further south, primarily in the United States. In addition, Woolly Mammoths had developed a special type of blood hemoglobin that helped the animal tolerate the very cold temperatures, which were typical of the ice age. A thick layer of fat beneath the skin provided additional insulation for the animal to help it tolerate cold temperatures. Two other features of the Woolly Mammoth provide insight to cold-tolerance. Examination of molar teeth from baby Woolly Mammoths found near the community of Old Crow, northern Yukon, suggest that the young nursed on their mothers' milk until about three years of age ( Yukon Beringia detailed fact sheet - Woolly Mammoth). The Woolly Mammoth teeth are covered with parallel, raised ridges (Figure 5), suggesting that the teeth were used as a flat grinding surface used to tear up the tough grasses and sedges that were its main food. The back teeth, or molars, of the Woolly Mammoth are distinctive and help distinguish Woolly Mammoth from the Mastodon. The trunk of the Woolly Mammoth was a little shorter compared to the African elephant ( Yukon Beringia detailed fact sheet - Woolly Mammoth). These physical features enabled the Woolly Mammoth to retain body heat and avoid frostbite during the cold periods in the far northern areas. The hair consisted of long, dark, guard hairs up to 90 cm long in adults, which covered the fine underlying woolly hair. This fur was similar to that of muskoxen. The Woolly Mammoth was covered with thick fur and had small ears and a short tail. In Ontario, the ice started to melt for the last time about 18,000 years ago and all of Ontario was free of ice by about 8,000 years ago. The land called Beringia - Siberia, Alaska, and part of Yukon - was ice-free. These remaining glaciers still cover Greenland, parts of the Arctic, Antarctica and mountainous regions.Īt the peak of the last ice age, about 25,000 years ago, almost all of Canada and ALL of Ontario were covered by ice that was as much as 2 to 3 km thick (Figure 3). The remains of the last glaciers cover about 10% of the Earth's land surface. During this warm period, most of the ice sheets from the last glacial period melted away. We are presently in a warm period, called an interglacial period, that started about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. The last great ice started about 2,580,000 years ago. If you are interested in the difference between the Woolly Mammoth and the Mastodon, both of which roamed the land together, check out this Mental_floss article or the Youtube video by Daniel Fisher. Also, skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung, and prehistoric cave paintings give important insights to this ice-age majestic megafauna animal! A lot is known about the appearance and behaviour of the Woolly Mammoth because carcasses have been discovered in Siberia and Alaska, frozen in the permafrost. It looked like a large, furry African elephant (Figures 1 and 2). The Woolly Mammoth was a majestic animal. This is the generalized geological story of the Woolly Mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius), which lived in Canada until about 12,000 years ago. I am not an expert on, not is this an exhaustive description of, the Woolly Mammoth.
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