Woolly Mammoth
Mammuthus primigenius
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Chordata
Mammalia
Proboscidea
Elephantidae
Mammuthus
Mammuthus primigenius
The Woolly Mammoth — Mammuthus primigenius is the most famous of the Ice Age megafauna, adapted to survive the harsh, frigid environments of Eurasia and North America during the Late Pleistocene. Covered in thick fur and equipped with long spiraled tusks, it has become an enduring symbol of the Ice Age.
Description
Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) — This species thrived in the mammoth steppe, a cold and dry grassland ecosystem stretching from Western Europe across Siberia and into North America. Adults stood 2.7–3.4 meters at the shoulder, with males weighing 4,500–6,000 kg. Their most distinctive features included long, curved tusks (up to 4.2 meters), a high domed head, a thick undercoat of fur, and a short, woolly tail. Adaptations such as small ears and a hump of fat for insulation allowed them to survive extreme Ice Age climates.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
8000
0.5
0.75
3.8
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Grazers
Hunt History
Humans hunted woolly mammoths extensively for their meat, fat, bones, and ivory. Their hides and tusks were also used for shelters, tools, and carvings. Cave paintings and ivory carvings show that mammoths were both prey and central to Ice Age cultures. Cooperative hunting with spears, ambushes near water, and possibly driving mammoths into traps or bogs were common strategies.
Earliest Archaeological Evidence of Human Predation:
Yana RHS, Siberia (ca. 30,000 years ago) — Mammoth bones showing butchery marks, associated with hunting tools.
Kostenki, Russia (ca. 27,000 years ago) — Mammoth bone dwellings, constructed from hunted mammoths.
Mezhirich, Ukraine (ca. 15,000 years ago) — Entire settlements built from mammoth bones, with evidence of organized hunting and processing.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
5000
BP
Late Pleistocene
North America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium–High
Fat %
8
Est. Renderable Fat
640
kg
Targeted Organs
marrow (long bones), brain, perirenal fat, dorsal subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Visceral (perirenal/mesenteric), limited subcutaneous; marrow, brain lipids
Preferred Cuts
marrow & brain; subcutaneous back fat when available
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
5