Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevor...ved-on-this-tiny-russian-island/#4e08d5557840
This is Wrangel Island, a small island to the north of Eastern Russia that was the last home to living woolly mammoths.
The last time Earth was plunged into an ice age, from 100,000 years ago to about 15,000 years ago, woolly mammoths roamed the northern hemisphere. During this period, there was a tremendous amount of ice locked away on land in the form of glaciers.
The Earth was cold and icy with a large portion of North America covered in the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets. The presence of ice on land reduced the global sea level, exposing shallow seaway “bridges” between landmasses. Also, the glacier extent allowed for large migrations of land mammals.
Woolly mammoths were thriving up until 15,000 years ago when Earth began to warm, glaciers melted and sea levels rose.
Recently published research found that the last woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island were separated from other distinct populations of woolly mammoths. Woolly mammoth populations elsewhere eventually died due to a warming climate, rising sea level, and deteriorating environment.
However, the mammoths on Wrangel Island appeared to be healthy and have a suitable environment up until the end. Isotopic analysis shows that the mammoths were healthy up until the end despite enduring harsh winters and changing water chemistry.
So what killed off the last woolly mammoths? Researchers believe the final straw was a short-term environmental event or events. They give the example that perhaps a series of freezing rain and snow covered the island in ice, essentially cutting off the woolly mammoth’s food supply. While it’s unclear at this point what the final extinction event was, it was likely an unusual and short-term event that triggered the downfall.
The first record of human populations on the island occurred just a few hundred years after the last woolly mammoth went extinct so it is likely that they never actually met. However, early human settlers used ivory and bones from these woolly mammoths that once inhabited the island.
This is Wrangel Island, a small island to the north of Eastern Russia that was the last home to living woolly mammoths.
The last time Earth was plunged into an ice age, from 100,000 years ago to about 15,000 years ago, woolly mammoths roamed the northern hemisphere. During this period, there was a tremendous amount of ice locked away on land in the form of glaciers.
The Earth was cold and icy with a large portion of North America covered in the Laurentide and Cordilleran Ice Sheets. The presence of ice on land reduced the global sea level, exposing shallow seaway “bridges” between landmasses. Also, the glacier extent allowed for large migrations of land mammals.
Woolly mammoths were thriving up until 15,000 years ago when Earth began to warm, glaciers melted and sea levels rose.
Recently published research found that the last woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island were separated from other distinct populations of woolly mammoths. Woolly mammoth populations elsewhere eventually died due to a warming climate, rising sea level, and deteriorating environment.
However, the mammoths on Wrangel Island appeared to be healthy and have a suitable environment up until the end. Isotopic analysis shows that the mammoths were healthy up until the end despite enduring harsh winters and changing water chemistry.
So what killed off the last woolly mammoths? Researchers believe the final straw was a short-term environmental event or events. They give the example that perhaps a series of freezing rain and snow covered the island in ice, essentially cutting off the woolly mammoth’s food supply. While it’s unclear at this point what the final extinction event was, it was likely an unusual and short-term event that triggered the downfall.
The first record of human populations on the island occurred just a few hundred years after the last woolly mammoth went extinct so it is likely that they never actually met. However, early human settlers used ivory and bones from these woolly mammoths that once inhabited the island.
