Raising the Mammoth :: Animals History Ice Age Essays

Raising the Mammoth Back in the spring of 2000, a documentary was broadcast from the scovery channel show on television, which millions tuned in to watch. This particular segment was dedicated to a recent discovery and excavation of a woolly mammoth found in the Siberian tundra of Russia. The expedition was headed by scientist, Bernard Buigues. This individual has organized over 20 different expeditions to the Siberian tundra of Russia, which made him highly qualified. Along with other colleges, Bernard successfully excavated a frozen, fully in tact, woolly mammoth that is said to be over 20,000 years old. (Head scientist: Bernard Buigues) What is a woolly mammoth? A woolly mammoth is a similar ancestor of the African and Asian elephants of today. It belongs to the same mammal classification known as proboscidenas, or mammals with long trunk like noses. Both of these breeds come from the same family tree but are distinct cousins. As you can see the woolly mammoth had fur all around it to protect it from the frigid Artic weather conditions of the ice age when it was around. These animals were travelers and like there cousins could be found in every continent besides Australia and South America. Not all looked alike but where classified together because of the trunk like nose characteristics. These animals would spend much of there time dedicated to eating and supporting their massive body weight. They were not carnivores but plant eaters. One woolly mammoth would eat up to 200 pounds of food a day to sustain it's self. It would dedicate up to 20 hours a day grazing on the fie lds and eating herbs, shrubs even parts of trees as it's diet. Because of their massive size the woolly mammoth really had no predators. Their huge tusks and ability to move with a deadly strike made them bullies of their ice age. A few would be taken down only due to old age or young lives but not as a mature adult. The woolly mammoth did live to a good age without many worries but with a huge appetite. The mammoth that was discovered in the Russian Siberian tundra was exactly this. So what is in the future for such a remarkable creature?