Last Stand of an Ice Age Species: How Woolly Mammoths Survived on an Island in the Arctic Ocean

by Penelope Lawson, age 9

Did you know that woolly mammoths lived on an isolated island up to 4,000 years ago? They were the longest living mammoth population of the Ice Age animals. They inhabited Wrangel Island off of northeastern Russia in the Arctic Ocean.

Mammoths lived in northern parts of the world like Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. Most mammoths went extinct 10,000 years ago in Asia and North America but 1,000 mammoths on the island survived for an additional 6,000 years. To prove their longer existence, scientists studied the bones and teeth of mammoths found on the island and compared them to those in northern parts of the world. Their studies showed that mammoths on the island lived more recently.

Mammoths looked almost identical to the elephants alive today, except woolly mammoths had thick coats of fur to keep them warm in their extremely cold climate. Their fur could grow up to three feet long. They could even grow more than one coat. They had a second coat of fur under the first layer. They even had fur inside their ears! Similar to modern elephants, mammoths had long trunks and tusks as well. Mammoths weren’t just furry, but they were also enormous! They weighed about six tons. A full grown mammoth could even grow to 13 feet.

Although mammoths lived thousands of years ago, scientists are still finding the bones of woolly mammoths providing clues to their existence.

[Source: National Geographic ]