Woolly Mammoth

[Barry the Baryonyx]

Woolly Mammoth

_{Image copyright Joe Tucciarone}

Many different species of animals lived in areas adjacent to the glaciers. Since these areas were considerably colder, the vegetation was also different. Tundra like habitats existed with numerous types of grasses and low-lying shrubs. Of all the animals that lived during the Ice Age, the Woolly Mammoth is best known.


Mammoths, like elephants, were very inefficient in the digestion of their food. It is believed that they were only able to digest less than half the food that they ate, as result they would have needed great quantities of food to stay alive. Due to the large volume of food that these animals would need daily, undoubtedly most of their day was spent searching for food and eating.


From carcasses found frozen in Siberia, it was discovered that Mammoths ate a wide range of plant life. This would have included anything from grasses, mosses, small plants to brush.


Relatives of the Mammoths first appeared in Africa some 3.5 million years ago. Descendants of these first Mammoths would have reached Europe by way of the Strait of Gibraltar (at that time a land bridge between Europe and Africa), or through the Middle East. These early ancestors of the Woolly Mammoth arrived in North America about 2.8 million years ago. During this period, the Ice Age was at a peak and sea levels were at their lowest. During these periods of low sea level several land bridges formed. Probably one of the most famous of these land bridges is known as the Bering Land Bridge connecting Siberia and North America. This Bering Land Bridge was once again exposed about 35 thousand years ago during the late Pleistocene Age. The Woolly Mammoth could have migrated back and forth several times during the last Ice Age. However, because of their adaptation to cold climate and dietary needs (tundra type vegetation) the Woolly Mammoth would have been restricted to the northern latitudes of the American continent.


Woolly Mammoths closely resembled the modern elephant in certain physical characteristics such as tusks and an elongated trunk. Much is known about these animals because complete specimens are occasionally found in the melting ice fields of Siberia. The Mammoths are so well preserved that soft body tissue has been recovered, and even in some rare instances their last meal is still present in their stomachs.


Adult Mammoths stood about 12 feet tall and weighed around 11,000 to 18,000 pounds. The calves of the Mammoths were about 2.5 feet tall and weighed about 250 pounds.

Mammoths had large heads with a dome on the top that sloped downward toward the backside of the animal. As indicated by the name, Woolly, the entire body of the Mammoth was covered with hair. The hair on the head, ears, and trunk was relatively short only a few inches in length. Hair covering the sides of the stomach and on the legs was up to several feet in length. Overall, the hair was red to reddish brown in color. Mammoths most likely shed their winter coats in the summer to help regulate their body temperature.


The trunks of the Mammoths were used to pick up food and water without bending down on their knees. Their trunks also had finger-like projections on the end which enabled them to be more agile when picking up objects. The ears on Mammoths were only about a foot in length as opposed to the larger ears of the modern elephant which are used to fan and cool body temperatures. Since Mammoths rarely needed to cool off, smaller ears were more than sufficient to aid in hearing, and because of their smaller size actually helped to conserve body heat. The Mammoth also had a very thick layer of fat beneath their skin which acted as insulation against the cold.


Mammoth teeth are used to determine the age of the animal. Mammoths had several sets of teeth that they lost through use and as they aged. As a tooth was worn down by grinding action it was ejected from the jaw and replaced by a new tooth. New teeth were successively larger as the animal grew. The teeth were made up of a series of vertical enamel plates alternating with layers of dentine. The age of a Mammoth can be determined by the size of the tooth and by the number of enamel plates in a single tooth.


Mammoths had very large rootless tusks that grew out of the skull and continued growing throughout the Mammoth’s life. In some excavated remains the tusks exceeded nine feet in length from the tip to the base of the skull. Tusks were used to show dominance within family groups and aid in the search for food under blankets of snow or ice.

The Mammoths began to die off about 15,000 years ago. Their ultimate extinction may have been a result of global warming, loss of suitable food supplies, lower breeding numbers, or the hunting of early hominids. Their extinction may have been a result of all, a few, or one of the previous stated factors.


An Ice Age is actually a series of ice advances and retreats. As the global climate warmed, the ice would melt. Then, after a period of prolonged cold the glaciers would be renewed and advance. This advance-retreat cycle would be repeated numerously, until the ice sheets would finally retreat for the last time, marking the end of a particular Ice Age. This last retreat of the ice would have been brought about by a global wide warming trend of only about 10 degrees Fahrenheit within a relatively short period of time. This rapidly warming climate had a great effect on vegetation. The plants that supported the Mammoths began changing from tundra vegetation to forests of evergreens. The increase in temperature melted the ice resulting in increased sea levels. The size of continental land masses were reduced as ocean levels rose from glacial melt water, flooding existing shore lines.


The vegetation may have changed too rapidly for the Mammoths digestive system to adapt. Those remaining Mammoths that were able to migrate or retreat with the shrinking glacial ice fields, would compete for the dwindling tundra vegetation. The vegetation loss and smaller habitat may have forced them into extinction.


Mammoths are thought to breed in a similar fashion as modern elephants. A female Mammoth probably could have given birth to no more than six calves in her lifetime. Because of this low reproduction rate, only a few females dying would drastically reduce the numbers within an individual herd. Soon there would not be enough individuals within a given herd to maintain a healthy population. The herd would eventually die out.

_{Text Copyright 2004 Treasures of the Earth}