Mammoth

Mammoths were extinct elephants in the genus Mammuthus that lived from the Pliocene into the Holocene.

Mammoths were extinct elephants of the genus Mammuthus, ranging from Africa to North America over millions of years. The woolly mammoth is the best-known cold-adapted species, but not all mammoths lived in icy climates.

What it is

Mammoths belong to the extinct elephant genus Mammuthus, which first appeared in Africa about 5 million years ago. They later spread across Eurasia and into North America. These herbivores fed on grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation, and varied in size and adaptation depending on their environment.

Key details

Notable species include the woolly mammoth (cold-adapted with thick fur), Columbian mammoth (warmer regions), steppe mammoth, and pygmy mammoth. Most mammoth populations died out near the end of the last Ice Age, but small groups survived on isolated Arctic islands until about 4,000 years ago. Extinction likely involved climate change, habitat loss, and human hunting.

Why it matters

Mammoth fossils are important for understanding Ice Age ecosystems and human prehistory. In Canada, especially the north, glacial deposits preserve evidence of these Pleistocene megafauna, linking to broader palaeontological and archaeological research.