Endangered Animals

Extinct Animal: Woolly Mammomth

The Woolly Mammoth

Although most mammoths diees out 10 000 years ago, a tiny number of them survived until 4, 000 years ago. Mammoth remains have been found across Europe, Asia, and North America. These massive mammals were ancient relative of the modern elephant, similar in size and shape, but better adapted to live in the cold. The woolly mammoth was well adapted to the low temperatures of the ice age. Thick, shaggy hair and a deep layer of body fat trapped heat to provide warmth. The huge tusks were probably used for self-defence, attracting mates, and digging for food. Here are some quick facts about the woolly mammoth:

  1. Their tusks on a male could be more than 10 feet long!
  2. The woolly mammoth is hardly 'mammoth' size at all
  3. The Steppe mammoth grows up to 13-15 feet tall
  4. Their small ears prevent frostbite and heatloss
  5. Mammoth ivory, unlike modern elephant ivory, is legal
  6. Woolly mammoth were once hunted by early humans
  7. Woolly mammoth wasn't the only 'woolly' mammal. There were woolly rhinos, too!
  8. Imperial mammoth males weighed up to 10 tons!
  9. Songhua River Mammoth of northern China weighed up to 15 tons!

QUESTION!

Can scientists clone the woolly mammoth?