Woolly Mammoth Hair & Tusk Ivory
Species: Mammuthus Primigenius
Pleistocene Period
Age: 10,000 Years Old
 
The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) is an extinct species of elephant that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch, which lasted from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. They were one of the last of the mammoth species to go extinct, with the last populations surviving on isolated islands in the Arctic Ocean until about 4,000 years ago.
 
Woolly mammoths were well-adapted to cold environments and had long, shaggy hair that protected them from the frigid temperatures of the Ice Age. They also had a layer of fat beneath their skin that helped to insulate them from the cold. They were large animals, with some individuals reaching heights of up to 14 feet (4.3 meters) at the shoulder and weighing as much as 6 to 8 tons (5,400 to 7,300 kg).
 
Despite their impressive size, woolly mammoths were herbivores, feeding on grasses, sedges, and other plants that grew in the cold, dry environments where they lived. They were social animals that lived in herds and likely had a complex social structure. Today, scientists continue to study woolly mammoths using fossil remains and DNA analysis in order to better understand their biology and the factors that led to their extinction.