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| Mammoth
Extinct (Unknown)
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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Many types of mammoth lived in temperate and northern climes: the frozen remains of woolly mammoths have been found in the northern parts of Siberia.
Frozen mammoth corpses, when removed from the ice, often prove remarkably fresh: dogs accompanying the finders sometimes ate the flesh. There have been proposals to clone freshly defrosted mammoths in order to revive the species.
In addition to occasional frozen mammoths, large amounts of mammoth ivory were found in Siberia, and were an article of trade for many centuries.
It is a common misconception that mammoths were much larger than modern elephants, an error that has led to "mammoth" being used as an adjective meaning "very big". Certainly, the largest known species, the Imperial Mammoth of California, reached heights of at least 4 meters (13 feet) at the shoulder. However, most species of mammoth were only about as large as a modern Indian elephant, and fossils of a species of dwarf mammoth have been found on Wrangel Island off the east coast of Siberia. They became extinct only at about 2000 BC.
The mammoths diverged from the Asian elephants after the latter group split from the African elephants, meaning that the mammoths were in fact more closely related to the modern Indian elephant than the African elephant is. Since there is a known case in which an Indian elephant and an African elephant have produced a live offspring, it has been theorised that if mammoths were still alive today, they would be able to interbreed with Indian elephants, and this has led to the idea that perhaps a mammoth-like beast could be recreated by taking genetic material from a frozen mammoth and combining it with that from a modern Indian elephant. However, not enough genetic material has been found in frozen mammoths for this to be attempted [1].
Whether the mammoth died out for climatic reasons or because of overhunting by humans ("overkill") is debated.
There have been claims that the mammoth is not actually extinct, and that isolated herds might survive in the vast and sparsely inhabited tundraIn physical geography, tundra is an area where tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia which means treeless plain. There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra antarctic of Siberia. The pilot of a WWII SovietThere are two main meanings to the word soviet Soviet (council) can mean a council of workers, a term that was used from the late Imperial Russia days. After the October Revolution, soviets (councils) became the main form of government at all levels: ente courier plane reported seeing a herd of furry elephants in Siberia in 1944Events World War II January January 4 The Battle of Monte Cassino begins. January 5 Murder of Danish playwright Kaj Munck January 17 British forces, in Italy, cross the Garigliano River. January 20 The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin;, and some notes compiled by sixteenth and seventeenth century RussianThe term Russian can refer to: The Russian language Someone from Russia or with a Russian ethnic identity, see Russians Something of or pertaining to Russia. travellers recount the hunting of mammoths for their tusks by local tribesmen. However, no solid evidence exists for these claims.
See also: Mastodon
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