Woolly Mammoth Research Paper

Extinct Species

Woolly Mammoths

During the last Ice Age, there were many large, interesting mammals, such as the Woolly Mammoth. This animal has long since gone extinct and any knowledge on it is based on fossils and frozen carcasses. We have learned much about the Woolly Mammoth, almost more than any other dinosaur that has been identified. A Mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus and a sister genus to elephas. Woolly Mammoths were approximately 11 feet tall, had long tucks and weighed six to eight tons. Other than a couple details, a modern day visual comparison would be to the Savannah elephant.

Mammoths lived during the Pleistocene epoch from 1.6 million to approximately 10,000 years ago. There are multiple
theories on why the Mammoths went extinct. There is scientific evidence to show that during their life span there was a Dramatic climate change that affected vegetation patterns and hence, food source. Another idea proposed is that humans over hunted the species faster than they could reproduce. Another theory, with no scientific evidence, is that new diseases introduced by animals and humans crossing the land bridge from Siberia is responsible for their extinction. Others believe there was a meteorite that hit earth. The problem with this theory is that all of the Wooly Mammoths would have had to of been living extremely close together for one meteorite to eliminate them all. However, the most common idea is that it was a combination of the Mammoth being over-hunted and a scarce food supply which lead to the Mammoths' extinction.
The Wooly Mammoth was a very large mammal, one of the largest mammals on earth.
In comparison to other Mammoths it was medium sized, standing eleven feet tall and weighing six to eight tons. Male Mammoths were approximately three feet taller than females. Overall males were much larger and heavier than females. They also had larger and heavier skulls as well as bigger tusks. Male's tusks that were up to twelve feet long. The tusks of the Woolly Mammoth were much larger and denser than those of elephants today. There are a number of theories for this, some being that the mammoth had to use them to push away trees, or that they engaged in fighting a lot more than modern elephants. The tusks are also believed to have been used to move snow and ice to expose grass for consumption and used in mating rituals. The tusks were also more curved and spiraled. The head of the Woolly Mammoth was wide domed and it remotely resembled the African Elephant of today. However, because of adaptations to the jaw and teeth that aided in eating grass, the head was more vertical. Based on Fossils found we know that the they had a down slanting spine which gave them a slight hump. We also know based on dental adaptations that Mammoths were herbivore, grass eating, grazers. The Mammoth's trunk was about six feet long had two finger-like projections on the end. The Woolly Mammoth was also fully covered in a heavy coat of hair (even the trunk). The underfur grew from one to six inches while the longest
straight hair grew to about three feet. The longest hairs grew on the legs and tail. The main purpose of the coat was to maintain body heat. The hair of a six to twelve month old mammoth carcass was reddish brown.This gives us an idea of the color of mammoths. The ear size was relatively small compared to the African elephant of today. This makes perfect sense due to the fact that it would reduce the area from which heat could escape the body. The African elephants often use their large ears to fan themselves, something a mammal living in the Tundra would obviously not need to do. Mammoths were herbivores and fed on tundra vegetation. Most of the Woolly Mammoths lived in the both Americas, and Eurasia, all through Siberia and Alaska. It is estimated that during the last Ice Age, parts of Siberia may have had an average population density of sixty animals per hundred square kilometers equivalent to African elephants today. Because of the time period they lived in, the weather conditions are known to have been extremely cold, always below freezing. The Mammoths had special adaptions that helped them survive in these harsh conditions such as extra fat to store nutrients, small ear, a massive amount of hair to keep warm and there blood allowed them to use oxygen more efficiently throughout their body.
The Woolly Mammoth was an amazing creature that was was extremely large. It was the perfect example of an animal that adapted to it's surroundings and had it not been over hunted by man it might still be present today. Because of the way they became extinct (frozen extremely fast and recent) there is a chance that scientists could bring this mammal back for us to enjoy.