Mammoths: Out Of The Past & On The Horizon

[Erinaceus]

On June 21, 2022, a near complete, mummified baby woolly mammoth was found in the Klondike gold fields within Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory. Miners working on Eureka Creek uncovered the frozen woolly mammoth while excavating through the permafrost. This is a significant discovery for Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin and the Government of Yukon. Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Elders named the mammoth calf Nun cho ga, meaning “big baby animal” in the Hän language.

The Yukon has a world-renowned fossil record of ice age animals, but mummified remains with skin and hair are rarely unearthed. Nun cho ga is the most complete mummified mammoth found in North America.

https://yukon.ca/en/news/mummified-baby-woolly-mammoth-found-gold-miner-klondike

 

[Lord Lucan]

Footage of the baby mammoth in the story reported by @Erinaceus above.

Miners digging for gold in Canada's Yukon discovered a near-perfect mummified baby woolly mammoth believed to be over 30,000 years old.

 

[EnolaGaia]

... “Ten thousand years after woolly mammoths vanished from the face of the Earth, scientists are embarking on an ambitious project to bring the beasts back to the Arctic tundra.
The prospect of recreating mammoths and returning them to the wild has been discussed – seriously at times – for more than a decade, but on Monday researchers announced fresh funding they believe could make their dream a reality.
The boost comes in the form of $15m (£11m) raised by the bioscience and genetics company Colossal, co-founded by Ben Lamm, a tech and software entrepreneur, and George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School who has pioneered new approaches to gene editing.”

This project seems to have gained yet another funding boost from a new investor - the CIA.

The CIA wants to bring woolly mammoths back from extinction​

The CIA is funding research into resurrecting extinct animals — including the woolly mammoth and tiger-like thylacine — according to news reports.

Via a venture capital investment firm called In-Q-Tel, which the CIA funds, the American intelligence agency has pledged money to the Texas-based tech company Colossal Biosciences. According to Colossal's website, the company's goal is to "see the woolly mammoth thunder upon the tundra once again" through the use of genetic engineering — that is, using technology to edit an organism's DNA.

Colossal has also stated an interest in resurrecting the extinct thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger — a wolf-like marsupial that went extinct in the 1930s — as well as the extinct dodo bird.

For their part, the CIA is less interested in thundering mammoths and roaring thylacines than it is in the underlying genetic engineering technology that Colossal intends to develop, according to an In-Q-Tel blog post.

"Strategically, it's less about the mammoths and more about the capability," In-Q-Tel's senior officials wrote. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/cia-wooly-mammoth-de-extinction

 

[Kondoru]

Oh.

 

[kesavaross]

People have knitted sweaters for seabirds. I suggest knitting large sweaters for elephants, so they can stay warm in Siberia.

Don't forget the trunk warmer.

 

[ramonmercado]

When did they become extinct? The debate continues. Are the experts on the horns of a dilemma or do they face an impossible tusk?

Some ancient DNA may be leading paleontologists astray in attempts to date when woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos went extinct.

In 2021, an analysis of plant and animal DNA from sediment samples from the Arctic, spanning about the last 50,000 years, suggested that mammoths survived in north-central Siberia as late as about 3,900 years ago (SN: 1/11/22). That’s much later than when the youngest mammoth fossil found in continental Eurasia suggests the animals died out; it dates to about 10,700 years ago. Only on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia and the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea were mammoths known to have survived later.

The finding was one of several in recent years using ancient DNA found in sediment and other environmental material to suggest new insights into animal extinctions. Genetic evidence from woolly rhinos in Eurasia and horses in Alaska have also indicated that these animals remained thousands of years longer in some areas than was thought.

But thousands of years is also how long the animals’ large bones can linger on the ground in the frigid north, slowly weathering and shedding tiny bits of DNA, two researchers write November 30 in Nature.

That means that the youngest ancient DNA in sediment samples may have come from such bones, not living mammoths, woolly rhinos and other megafauna. Studies that rely on this genetic evidence could skew estimates of when these animals went extinct by thousands of years toward the present, say paleontologists Joshua Miller of the University of Cincinnati and Carl Simpson of the University of Colorado Boulder.

When, and why, mammoths and some other Ice Age creatures died out is a lingering mystery. Dating when these animals went extinct could help reveal what drove them to their demise — humans, a warming climate, some combination of the two or something else entirely (SN: 11/13/18; SN: 8/13/20). ...

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mammoths-extinct-earlier-edna-evidence

 

[Kondoru]

Oh, thats a valid observation.

 

[Swifty]

Scientists alarmed over Russia's ‘risky' attempt to awaken virus that killed mammoths​

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/worl...sedgntp&cvid=c123edd295c340bd8b5d7e5d9fa43ddd

 

[Frideswide]

Oh, thats a valid observation.

Yes, took me aback but it shuoldn't have done.

 

[ramonmercado]

How they became as fluffy as bunnies.

As wooly mammoths grazed frigid Siberian steppes for more than half a million years, they evolved increasingly fluffy fur, large fat deposits, and smaller ears, according to a new study.

By comparing the genomes of modern elephants with those of multiple wooly mammoths – including individual mammoths that lived 600,000 years apart – researchers gained new insight into the evolution of these ice-age icons.

Distinctive features like fluffy fur and fat deposits were already genetically encoded in early wooly mammoths, the study found, but these and other characteristics seem to have grown more pronounced as the mammoths adapted to Siberia over hundreds of millennia.

"We wanted to know what makes a mammoth a wooly mammoth," says paleogeneticist and first author David Díez-del-Molino from the Center for Paleogenetics in Stockholm.

In addition to finding genetic evidence of fluffier fur and small ears, "there are also many other adaptations like fat metabolism and cold perception that are not so evident because they're at the molecular level," he adds.

https://www.sciencealert.com/ancien...th-evolution-and-they-werent-always-so-fluffy

 

[hunck]

Mammoth tusk found in Cambridgeshire

On July 11, Jamie Jordan and his colleague, Sarah Moore, were on a ‘fossil walk’ searching for samples in a quarry when they noticed a ‘tube-like structure’ popping out of the sand.

They were initially unsure what it was but quickly realised it was a mammoth tusk.

The tusk was roughly 4 feet (1.2 metres) long and in excellent condition. It belonged to a male steppe mammoth that would have been about 13 feet (4 metres) tall.

The tusk is now undergoing a preservation process that will take approximately six months to complete at the Fossils Galore Museum, where Jordan is the founder and curator.

 

[hunck]

Mammoth tooth found on Essex beach

Chris Bien, 56, was visiting Holland-on-Sea, as part of her birthday celebrations when she took a walk on the beach with her husband Mark. Mrs Bien, from Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, stopped to sit on a rock by the water's edge when she looked down and saw a wavy line pattern in the gravel.

"I was in disbelief and very excited - while we were digging it out I was hoping it was a mammoth tooth but I kept saying to my husband: 'it can't be'. I had said earlier that day 'I'm going to find a mammoth's tooth' and then we had a moment where we just burst out laughing as we stood on the beach holding it. It is so beautiful with its ridges. I'm overjoyed.”

The find is believed to be the root of the tooth and measures six-and-a-half to seven inches in depth and width and weighs two kilos. After seeking advice online, Chris believes the tooth could have belonged to a steppe mammoth, one of the largest mammoth species. They were ancestors of the woolly mammoth and roamed around the earth around 1.8 million years ago.

Chris added that she thinks the fossil is only half a tooth as there's only two inches of the chewing plate and the rest is the root, indicating some of it is missing.

 

[ramonmercado]

What wine goes best with mammoth steaks?

Austrian man discovers mammoth bones in wine cellar​

OeAW-OeAI/H.Parow-Souchon
A man who was renovating his wine cellar in Austria has made an extraordinary discovery. It wasn't a vintage red or white - but the remains of prehistoric mammoths.

The find has been called an "archaeological sensation” by researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the OeAW.

The winemaker, Andreas Pernerstorfer, came across a number of huge bones, buried deep in his wine cellar in the village of Gobelsburg, in the district of Krems, west of Vienna. He reported his find to the authorities, who identified them as the bones of at least three Stone Age mammoths.

Mr Pernerstorfer told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, ORF, that he was renovating his wine cellar when he made the discovery.

“I thought it was just a piece of wood left by my grandfather. But then I dug it out a bit and then I remembered that in the past my grandfather said he had found teeth. And then I immediately thought it was a mammoth," he said.

Researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute have been excavating the bones since the middle of May. Archaeologists Thomas Einwögerer and Hannah Parow-Souchon say that stone artefacts and charcoal found at the site indicate that the bones are between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.

OeAW-OeAI/H.Parow-Souchon

The Institute says the last time there was a comparable discovery was 150 years ago, also in the district of Krems.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg87kwl0eo

 

[catseye]

What wine goes best with mammoth steaks?

Austrian man discovers mammoth bones in wine cellar​

OeAW-OeAI/H.Parow-Souchon
A man who was renovating his wine cellar in Austria has made an extraordinary discovery. It wasn't a vintage red or white - but the remains of prehistoric mammoths.

The find has been called an "archaeological sensation” by researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the OeAW.

The winemaker, Andreas Pernerstorfer, came across a number of huge bones, buried deep in his wine cellar in the village of Gobelsburg, in the district of Krems, west of Vienna. He reported his find to the authorities, who identified them as the bones of at least three Stone Age mammoths.

Mr Pernerstorfer told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, ORF, that he was renovating his wine cellar when he made the discovery.

“I thought it was just a piece of wood left by my grandfather. But then I dug it out a bit and then I remembered that in the past my grandfather said he had found teeth. And then I immediately thought it was a mammoth," he said.

Researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute have been excavating the bones since the middle of May. Archaeologists Thomas Einwögerer and Hannah Parow-Souchon say that stone artefacts and charcoal found at the site indicate that the bones are between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.

OeAW-OeAI/H.Parow-Souchon

The Institute says the last time there was a comparable discovery was 150 years ago, also in the district of Krems.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3gg87kwl0eo

It's a nice find, but I'd like to know what makes it an 'archaeological sensation'? They've found whole frozen mammoths up in the Steppes, and we've plenty of evidence of them - why are some more bones a 'sensation'?

 

[Frideswide]

It's a nice find, but I'd like to know what makes it an 'archaeological sensation'? They've found whole frozen mammoths up in the Steppes, and we've plenty of evidence of them - why are some more bones a 'sensation'?

my guess is publicity puff - but also that it's a group of them? the preservation is excellent? it extends the range? I think that it's together with human archaeology /does/ make it rather interesting.

dunno - maybe they all have a microchip at the back of the neck

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska
Abstract:
Causes of late Quaternary extinctions of large mammals ("megafauna") continue to be debated, especially for continental losses, because spatial and temporal patterns of extinction are poorly known. Accurate latest appearance dates (LADs) for such taxa are critical for interpreting the process of extinction. The extinction of woolly mammoth and horse in northwestern North America is currently placed at 15,000-13,000 calendar years before present (yr BP), based on LADs from dating surveys of macrofossils (bones and teeth). Advantages of using macrofossils to estimate when a species became extinct are offset, however, by the improbability of finding and dating the remains of the last-surviving members of populations that were restricted in numbers or confined to refugia. Here we report an alternative approach to detect 'ghost ranges' of dwindling populations, based on recovery of ancient DNA from perennially frozen and securely dated sediments (sedaDNA). In such contexts, sedaDNA can reveal the molecular presence of species that appear absent in the macrofossil record. We show that woolly mammoth and horse persisted in interior Alaska until at least 10,500 yr BP, several thousands of years later than indicated from macrofossil surveys. These results contradict claims that Holocene survival of mammoths in Beringia was restricted to ecologically isolated high-latitude islands. More importantly, our finding that mammoth and horse overlapped with humans for several millennia in the region where people initially entered the Americas challenges theories that megafaunal extinction occurred within centuries of human arrival or were due to an extraterrestrial impact in the late Pleistocene.

Source: Haile J, Froese DG, Macphee RD, Roberts RG, Arnold LJ, Reyes AV, Rasmussen M, Nielsen R, Brook BW, Robinson S, Demuro M, Gilbert MT, Munch K, Austin JJ, Cooper A, Barnes I, Möller P, Willerslev E. Ancient DNA reveals late survival of mammoth and horse in interior Alaska. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Dec 29;106(52):22352-7​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Living Mammoth, Redwood River, Minnesota, 1818

Source: The Centinel of Freedom (Newark, New Jersey) Vol. XXII, Nº39, June 9, 1818, p.3​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Fresh Tracks of Mammoth, Unimak Island, Alaska, 1903

Source: The Evening News (San Jose, California) Vol.XLIV, Nº68, September 11, 1903, p.1​

 

[catseye]

I do think mammoths probably survived a lot longer than we think, but that the populations likely became so small that they couldn't be sustained.

 

[Tunn11]

I do think mammoths probably survived a lot longer than we think, but that the populations likely became so small that they couldn't be sustained.

Siberia is huge a bit over 5,000,000 sq miles compared to Canada's 3,800,000. Not direct comparisons in terms of wilderness, etc. But everyone seems happy about Canada being able to support populations of Bigfoot, etc. and we're always hearing about how remote a lot of it is.

So; why no Mammoths/Mastodons reported in Canada? How really remote are parts of Siberia?

Of course if the Mammoths had to collect anywhere they would have to choose Tunguska wouldn't they?

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Mammoths : Traditions of Red Race Natives of America and Chinese about their Existence.

Source: Murray, Andrew. The Geographical Distribution of Mammals, pp.182​

 

[Fabio Picasso]

The Killing of the Mammoth

Supposed killing of a Mammoth in Alaska, 1890. This story is probably fictional but it generated several letters from readers sent to McClures Magazine and the Smithsonian Institution..
Source: Tukeman, H. The Killing of the Mammoth, McClures Magazine, October 1899, pp.505-514​

 

[ramonmercado]

Human/Mammoth interaction over a period of 800 years.

Woolly mammoths are evocative of a bygone era, when Earth was gripped within an Ice Age. Current knowledge places early mammoth ancestors in the Pliocene (2.58–5.33 million years ago, Ma) before their populations expanded in the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma–11,700 years ago, kyr). However, as climate changed, their numbers dwindled to isolated populations in modern Siberia and Alaska, until their last dated survival 4 kyr ago.

In the East Siberian Arctic (>70 °N), there is not only evidence of significant woolly mammoth populations, but also how humans interacted with them, the focus of new research in Quaternary Science Reviews.

Along the Berelekh River, Russia, a 'mammoth graveyard' can be found. Here, thousands of disarticulated bones, representing a minimum of 156 individual mammoths, found alongside an archaeological site indicate the close proximity of these two communities, forming the Berelekh geoarchaeological complex.

Dr. Vladimir Pitulko, of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and colleagues aimed to assess the relationship between the 'mammoth graveyard' and the archaeological site through a re-examination of stratigraphic and paleogeographic data obtained in 2009, with new fieldwork focused on the left riverbanks where mammoth bones have readily yielded from their home in the sediment and appeared on the water's edge. Alongside them are remains of Pleistocene hare, Arctic fox and wolves, as well as soot and charcoal from hearths and worked mammoth tusks (one being an unfinished throwing spear).

The researchers suggest humans created these bone accumulations as a byproduct of the production of mammoth ivory technology, while hares may have been targeted for fur to produce winter clothing.

Notably, evidence of blowfly pupae activity on cavities in skulls and bones is indicative that the mammoth carcasses were added to the 'graveyard' de-fleshed. Indeed, there appears to be evidence of sorting of the bones, with only the most valuable transported to Berelekh from the area in which the mammoth was killed, leaving behind parts such as spinal columns, carpal ('hand') and tarsal ('foot') bones.

https://phys.org/news/2024-06-siberia-mammoth-graveyard-reveals-year.html

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Some Account of a Journey to the Frozen Sea, and of the Discovery of the Remains of a Mammoth
Oveeview:
I should have reasonto reproach myself were I to delay any longer the publication of a discovery in Zoology, which is
so much the more interesting to be detailed, as it once more presents to our view a species of animal, the existence of
which has been a subject of dispute among the most celebrated naturalists. I was informed at oVakoutsk by M. Popoff, who is at the head of the company of merchants of that town, that they had, discovered upon the shores of the Frozen Sea~ near the mouth of the river Lena, an animal of an extraordinary size: the flesh, skin and hair were in good preservation, and it was supposed that the fossile production, known by the name of mammoth horns, must have belonged to some animal of this kind.​

Source: Adams, M. M. (1807). XXIII. Some account of a journey to the frozen sea, and of the discovery of the remains of a mammoth. Translated from the French. The Philosophical Magazine, 29(114), 141–153.

 

[Fabio Picasso]

Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at The Explorers Club?
Abstract:

Accounts of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) preserved so well in ice that their meat is still edible have a long history of intriguing the public and influencing paleontological thought on Quaternary extinctions and climate, with some scientists resorting to catastrophism to explain the instantaneous freezing necessary to preserve edible meat. Famously, members of The Explorers Club purportedly dined on frozen mammoth from Alaska, USA, in 1951. This event, well received by the press and general public, became an enduring legend for the Club and popularized the notorious annual tradition of serving rare and exotic food at Club dinners that continues to this day. The Yale Peabody Museum holds a sample of meat preserved from the 1951 meal, interestingly labeled as a South American giant ground sloth (Megatherium), not mammoth. We sequenced a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene and studied archival material to verify its identity, which if genuine, would extend the range of Megatherium over 600% and alter our views on ground sloth evolution. Our results indicate that the meat was not mammoth or Megatherium but green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). The prehistoric dinner was likely an elaborate publicity stunt. Our study emphasizes the value of museums collecting and curating voucher specimens, particularly those used for evidence of extraordinary claims.​

Source: Glass JR, Davis M, Walsh TJ, Sargis EJ, Caccone A (2016) Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at The Explorers Club? PLoS ONE 11(2)​

 

[ramonmercado]

Inbred mammoths survived longest, perhaps their last hold out was in Norfolk.

The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland.

A new genomic analysis reveals that the isolated mammoths, who lived on the island for the subsequent 6,000 years, originated from at most eight individuals but grew to 200–300 individuals within 20 generations.

The researchers report June 27 in the journal Cell that the Wrangel Island mammoths' genomes showed signs of inbreeding and low genetic diversity but not to the extent that it can explain their ultimate (and mysterious) extinction.

"We can now confidently reject the idea that the population was simply too small and that they were doomed to go extinct for genetic reasons," says senior author Love Dalén, an evolutionary geneticist at the Center for Paleogenetics, a joint collaboration between the Swedish Museum of Natural History and Stockholm University.

"This means it was probably just some random event that killed them off, and if that random event hadn't happened, then we would still have mammoths today."

In addition to shedding light on woolly mammoth population dynamics, this analysis of Wrangel Island mammoths could help inform conservation strategies for present-day endangered animals.

"Mammoths are an excellent system for understanding the ongoing biodiversity crisis and what happens from a genetic point of view when a species goes through a population bottleneck because they mirror the fate of a lot of present-day populations," says first author Marianne Dehasque of the Center for Paleogenetics.

https://phys.org/news/2024-06-surviving-woolly-mammoths-inbred-doomed.html

 

[ramonmercado]

More wonders at Wick.

Mammoth graveyard yields more fossil wonders​

BBC
Mammoth remains have been found at Cerney Wick

Mammoth teeth and tusks are among the items discovered on a new dig at a site that inspired a Sir David Attenborough documentary.
Known as the mammoth graveyard, the site at Cerney Wick near Cirencester, is where remains of multiple steppe mammoths were found in 2019. The site is believed to date back to around 220,000 years ago.

Other significant fossils found this time have been Neanderthal hand axes, ancient bison bones and a prehistoric shark fin.

“I’m absolutely blown away” said Dr Neville Hollingworth, who is leading the dig with his wife Sally. “We’re revealing new information about what was living in this part of the world at that time” continued Mr Hollingworth.

The site was quarried for gravel and that revealed the prehistoric layers so the first dig could take place. The original discoveries were one of the most significant Paleolithic finds in the UK. Steppe mammoths were an ancestor of the woolly mammoth, and this site is believed to date back to around 220,000 years ago. It was allowed to return to being a lake, before it was drained so this second major dig could be undertaken.

There is evidence that the site used to be a river

There is evidence that the site was a river and the fossils became trapped in the silt and rocks on the river bed. The mammoth teeth that have been found are well preserved, some complete with roots. They have been found alongside shoulder bones and two partial tusks, one from a small mammoth and one much larger. Half a bison skull was found complete with horn, and a bison rib bone attached to a vertebra.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce78x9pj3x1o

 

[ramonmercado]

Worries about woolly mammoth de-extinction.

'Closer than people think': Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality — and we have no idea what happens next​

Scientists are getting very close to bringing a few iconic species, like woolly mammoths and dodos, back from extinction. That may not be a good thing.

For about seven minutes in 2003, scientists reversed extinction. The resurrected lineage was the Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica), and the last known member of the subspecies, a female named Celia, had died three years earlier. Scientists had collected DNA from Celia's ear before her death and injected her genetic material into a domesticated goat egg cell with its nucleus removed. The resulting clone — the first and only extinct creature to have been revived at the time — died soon after birth due to a lung defect.

Although that effort failed to produce a healthy animal, "de-extinction" science has advanced dramatically in the past two decades. Technology is no longer a significant hurdle to reviving recently extinct species, and in many cases, we have enough DNA to piece together functional genomes for cloning. The question isn't so much whether we can resurrect lost species but if we should.

Some companies aren't waiting to answer that question. For instance, Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering company, plans to bring back three iconic extinct species: the dodo (Raphus cucullatus), the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus; also known as the thylacine) and the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). The ultimate goal for these de-extinction efforts, according to Colossal's website, is to "enrich biodiversity, replenish vital ecological roles and bolster ecosystem resilience."

But a catastrophic outcome cannot be ruled out, other experts say.

"We have this hubris as humans that we can control our technology," Oswald Schmitz, a professor of population and community ecology at Yale University, told Live Science. "I'm not so convinced."

https://www.livescience.com/animals...reality-and-we-have-no-idea-what-happens-next

 

[hunck]

Baby mammoth in Russia is the ‘best-preserved’ ever found​

Russian scientists have displayed the remarkably well-preserved remains of a baby mammoth found in the permafrost-covered region of Yakutia in Siberia.

The 50,000-year-old female mammoth has been nicknamed Yana after the river in whose basin it was discovered this summer. Experts say it is the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world and is one of only seven whole remains ever found.

Studies will be carried out to work out her exact age at death, estimated at “one year old or a bit more”.

The carcass was shown at North-Eastern Federal University in the regional capital of Yakutsk, the institution said in a statement. “We were all surprised by the exceptional preservation of the mammoth,” said the university rector, Anatoly Nikolayev.

The carcass was dug up near the Batagaika research station where the remains of other prehistoric animals – including a horse, a bison and a lemming – have been found.

Before this discovery, only six mammoth carcasses had been found in the world – five in Russia and one in Canada, the university said.

 

[Analogue Boy]

A half-mammoth event.