Woolly+Mammoth

<-- Modern animal (african elephant) Future animal (loxigenius) --> Woolly Mammoth

Known as the Mammuthus primigenius in Latin and also called the trundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. They are the most well known species of mammoth. It is know for the frozen carcasses and bones from north America and Eurasia. The height of this animal is 2.7 to 4.26 metres, the weight is around 12000 – 29999 pounds and its lifespan is 60 – 80 years.
 * Scientific classification**
 * Kingdom:**Animalia
 * Phylum:**Chordata
 * Class:**Mammalia
 * Order:**Proboscidea
 * Family:**Elephantidae
 * Genus:**†Mammuthus
 * Species:**Mammuthus primigenius

Habitat

Aswell as other species of mammoths such as the dwarf mammoth, the woolly mammoth lived during the ice age and died out at the end of the first ice age due to the climate change and the humans that hunt them and had to adapt to the cold tundra. The climate during the ice age was around -60C and slightly changed during the year. The woolly mammoths accept the temperature as they have a layer of fur and also a layer of long hair, one metre long. The woolly mammoths ate the little shrubs and grass plants that were under the snow and ice, they used their tusks to move the snow away and their trunks to put the food in their mouths. Just like the African elephant, the woolly mammoth did not have any animal predators; they were only hunted by humans, who hunted them for their tusks. Woolly mammoths eat grass and plants. Where ever they are they can reach and get food from under the snow and ice.

Adaptions **{WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO ON THE ADAPTIONS OF THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH}** **Structural one** The wooly mammoths **tusks** were extremely long, they could grow up to five metres or sixteen feet long, they were noticeably curved, more than the African elephants. The woolly mammoth used their tusks to shovel, dig and get food from under the snow and ice, and then they used their trunks to pick up the food to place in their mouth and then eat it. The tusks are classified as their incisor teeth. Their teeth were very bumpy and rough so they could eat the frozen food they found. There is evidence of this by the major wear and flatness of the tip of the tusks. Similar to the African elephant, wooly mammoths have a preferred tusk to use, their dominant tusk, either right or left.

The woolly mammoths tusks are much longer and thicker than the Asian elephants and African elephants today. The woolly mammoths use their tusks for fighting, pushing away trees, ice, snow and to get to the grass and plants under the snow and ice. The tusks were much more curved and spirally, as they grew in spirals. A male adult tusk, including the cure, may gro as long as 3.5 m.

**Structural two - ears** The woolly mammoths had very small ears to keep them warm and insulated. The largest ear found for the mammoth was only 30 cm long, compared to 60 for an Asian elephant and 180 for an African elephant. During the ice age they need as much heat and warmth as possible. The small ears on the woolly mammoth decrease the amount of heat that is released from the body. This adaption helps the woolly mammoth survive by keeping it warm so it does not freeze.

**Structural three – hair** The woolly mammoth was fully covered in a thick layer of hair. The under fur grew to about 15 cm, while the straight hair grew to about one metre long. The whole body was covered in hair, even the trunk. Over the whole body, the longest hair grew around the front legs and tail. The reason why the woolly mammoth had such long hair, was to maintain body heat, mostly after drinking water, because the heat from the body heated the water that was in the stomach. The woolly mammoths would have had great problems if they didn’t have the thick coat of hair. The hair colour on a 6-12 month old male mammoth carcass was reddish brown, which gives cluse to the colour of other types of mammoths

**Structural four - legs and foot** The legs on the woolly mammoth were very short compared to other animals that live in warmer climate areas. their legs are short so much less heat escapes the body, to keep them warm in the cold climate that they live in. As well s the whole body, the legs are covered in a thick layer of hair, 1 metre long. under the hair they have a thick layer of fat for extra insulation. The woolly mammoth has a suction like adaption on the bottom of its foot, so when it walks, the foot 'expands' so there is more surface area filled on the floor to make it easier to walk and carry its weight. As well as the suction, they have a smaller layer of fur/hair that also keeps them insulated and warm.

**Physiological one - genetic mutation** The woolly mammoths survive because of the three small **genetic mutations** which allows their blood to carry oxygen to their cells, even in the extreme cold. The woolly mammoth’s DNA changed to allow it to live in icy conditions. It does this by changing the very small gene sequence for the hemoglobin. They charge their hemoglobin to allow boundaries, to cool the oxygen in the body. Overall, reducing the animal’s energy requirements. Hemoglobin transports oxygen throughout the body. But in most animals it gets colder and the hemoglobin is not able to do its job and cells die.



As well as other animals such as the dire wolf and the glyptodon, the woolly mammoth died at the end of the last ice age, about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago. The wooly mammoth was the last living species of mammoth. Although there is no certain reason why the woolly mammoth died, there are a few possible causes. The woolly mammoths lead to extinction because of where they lived, the climate changed, an infectious disease or from being hunted by humans. The larger mammoths died around 10,000 years ago, and the [|dwarf breeds] died approximately 4,700 years ago. The last wooly mammoth disappeared about 10,000 BC from Europe. But the small mammoths of Wrangle Island were alive until 1,650 BC. When the climate rose 12,000 years ago, accompanied by the glacial retreat and the rising of seas levels, has been said to be a factor of their extinction. The forests replaced grasslands and woodlands all around the continent. This habitat has been reduced for some mega faunal species, such as the [|elk],  [|condor] and mammoth.
 * Environmental pressure - Extinction**

Bibliography
 * 1) How woolly mammoths survived Arctic cold - thestar.com . (n.d.).  //News, Toronto, GTA, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Canada, World, Breaking - thestar.com// . Retrieved June 20, 2011, from http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/article/803949--how-woolly-mammoths-survived-arctic-cold
 * 2) Mammoth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth#Extinction
 * 3) Stay, M. (n.d.). Mammoth. //Mac OS X Server//. Retrieved June 17, 2011, from http://www.makalapa.k12.hi.us/Makalapa_Folder/HTML/adapt&survive/ms/mammoth.html
 * 4) Stay, M. (n.d.). Mammoth. //Mac OS X Server//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://www.makalapa.k12.hi.us/Makalapa_Folder/HTML/adapt&survive/ms/mammoth.html
 * 5) Turak, G. (n.d.). Ice Age Woolly Mammoth Habitat (K-1) | kmcgreevy. //kmcgreevy | Just another WordPress.com site//. Retrieved June 25, 2011, from http://kmcgreevy.wordpress.com/lesson-plans/ice-age-woolly-mammoth-habitat/