The Ice Age Giant
The Woolly Mammoth was a majestic creature that roamed the icy plains of North America, Europe, Asia, and the northern regions of South America during the Ice Age, from about 400,000 years ago until around 4,000 years ago.
| Meaning | Named for its woolly fur |
| Pronunciation | WOOL-ee MAM-uth |
| When: | Pleistocene (about 400,000–4,000 years ago) |
| Where: | North America, Europe, Asia (North America, Europe, Asia) |
| What: | Mammal (elephantidae, herbivorous) |
| Weight: | Estimated around 6–8 metric tons |
| Length: | Approximately 4 meters (13 feet) at the shoulder |
| Diet: | Herbivorous (ate grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation) |
| Discovered: | Known to humans since prehistoric times; scientific classification by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1799 |
These ancient elephants were well-adapted to cold climates, with long, shaggy coats of fur, small ears, and a layer of fat beneath their skin for insulation.
Woolly Mammoths were herbivores, grazing on grasses, shrubs, and other plants.
They were around 3 to 3.5 meters (10 to 11.5 feet) tall at the shoulder and had impressive, curved tusks that could reach up to 4 meters (13 feet) in length.
Woolly Mammoths lived in family groups and migrated in search of food. Climate change and human hunting are believed to have contributed to their extinction