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Woolly Mammoths

© Debbie St. Germain

Over ten thousands years ago, the earth went through an Ice Age. The northern parts of Europe and North America were covered with ice and snow. This age was known as the Pleistocene Epoch. As the Ice Age gave way to a new era, the animals that dwelled in this period died off but not without leaving evidence of their existence.

During the Ice Age, mammals died and became trapped within the ice. The ice preserved them so well that scientists now have the opportunity to examine many of these animals, fully intact. In 1997, a young boy made a remarkable discovery while herding reindeer in Siberia. What he discovered were the remains of a Mammuthus primigenius or, by its common name, the woolly mammoth.

When the woolly mammoth was first named, scientists called it Elephus Primigenius, because they thought it was an early member of the elephant family. Scientists now know that elephants were on this earth long before the woolly mammoths. In fact, elephants were here millions of years before the woolly mammoth.

Earlier elephants were very small compared to the elephants you see today. They were more like pigs or hippopotamuses in size. The largest elephant, the imperial mammoth, was 13 feet at the shoulders compared to the woolly mammoth, which was 10 feet tall.

The woolly mammoth lived in a time when the earth was covered with a lot of ice. To adapt to these conditions, they developed a very thick coat of long, shaggy hair. The woolly mammoth had two layers of hair; a thick, short, yellowish-brown undercoat lay beneath a dark-brown longer coat to give them added warmth. They also had smaller ears, which helped to reduce heat loss.

Like the camel, the woolly mammoth had a hump where it stored fat reserves.

To find food in the icy regions, the woolly mammoth had long, curved tusks -- up to 15 1/2 feet long -- to uncover food beneath the snow. Scientists know that woolly mammoths fed mostly on leaves, because when they examined the animals' stomach contents, they found them full of leaves. Mammoths had such a big appetite that most of their day was devoted to eating. An adult would eat about 200 pounds of food every day.

Mammoths first appeared in Africa and eventually migrated to Europe, Siberia, and areas of North America. The only place they have not been found is in Australia and South America. Many discoveries have been made, not only in Siberia, but in other parts of the world as well. Learn more about the woolly mammoth and the newest discoveries by visiting the links below.

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