Humans Didn't Kill the Woolly Mammoth and Cloning is Hard 🐘 Prehistory in the Dark 🐘

Mammuthus primigenius, commonly known as the Woolly Mammoth, is probably the best known member of the Mammuthus genus. They were large, hairy, similar to elephants but with much more massive tusks. They're arguably the most famous of the Ice Age megafauna, but like many of those they died off within the last 10,000 years.

It was thought that humans may have been responsible for the mammoth's extinction, but recent evidence suggests otherwise. Additionally, the potential of possibly cloning a mammoth and bringing the species back to life remains a complicated, but real, prospect.

"The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was a species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with Mammuthus subplanifrons in the early Pliocene. The woolly mammoth began to diverge from the steppe mammoth about 800,000 years ago in East Asia. Its closest extant relative is the Asian elephant. DNA studies show that the Columbian mammoth was a hybrid between woolly mammoths and another lineage descended from steppe mammoths. The appearance and behaviour of this species are among the best studied of any prehistoric animal because of the discovery of frozen carcasses in Siberia and Alaska, as well as skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung, and depiction from life in prehistoric cave paintings. Mammoth remains had long been known in Asia before they became known to Europeans in the 17th century. The origin of these remains was long a matter of debate, and often explained as being remains of legendary creatures. The mammoth was identified as an extinct species of elephant by Georges Cuvier in 1796."

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#woollymammoth #iceage #clone

[merafirewing]

The woolly mammoth is by far one of my favorite Ice Age animals.

[bkjeong]

Any climate-based explanation for mammoth extinction runs into one big problem; mammoths had survived repeated interglacials during the Late Pleistocene, including those with Younger Dryas-like climatic fluctuations at their start.

[robertwilloughby]

Can you do ancient horses, starting with the ones with soft feet and were the size of a small dog? That is an amazing evolution history.

[joshuaW]

As much as I like mammoths, I don’t think we should bring them back. The environments they lived in have changed a lot since they’re extinction and aren’t cut out for a population of big hairy elephants. And they would probably go extinct again shortly afterwards. I think we’re better off cloning animals that humans definitely wiped out.

[AlongPreservedLines]

Great video, really nice to see you covering prehistory! May I request you look at the Allosaurus specimen 'Big Al'? I know his story is somewhat well known, but I feel that it could be a very interesting a topic for a video, can't wait to see more!

[glimpseofgood]

"what are you doing stepmammoth?"












i couldnt help myself

[the_autism_express]

I think you should cover the platybelodon, another prehistoric elephant, next

[CaucAsianSasquatch]

Ok bro, I'm on board. Let's do it.

[fioafionawright]

We definitely did not hunt or cause the extinction of mammoth, a juvenile female could probably wipe out a hunting party with minimal resistance, yes there is evidence we butchered and scavenged them, and perhaps finished off incredibly sick or Injured individuals, on occasion but recent evidence that’s fairly irrefutable proves stone weapons wouldn’t get past their *wool* let alone skin and fat to cause sufficient wounds to bring one down, before it stomped everyone involved and all their loved ones of flat, i pain you and five or six mates to go fight a bull elephant wearing full battle armour armed only with stone tipped spears and dressed in animal furs or simple woven reeds.. mammoth were much larger and likely angrier, heck bring twelve mates youll still be stomped flat.

[pandawok]

Do I need to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park?

[ATurnip]

I really like Wooly mammoths. That is all.