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That big hairy elephant thing is based on a woolly mammoth (mammuthus
primigenius).
 It's
an extinct relative of the Indian elephant. These big fluffy beasts
lived in the icy climates of Europe and Asia, and also in North
America. They evolved about 120,000 years ago, and species of mammoths
lived almost everywhere in the world at some time - except Australia
and Antarctica.
They stood about 3-4.5 metres tall, and tusks up to 3.5 metres long
have been found - a meter longer than an African elephant's.
The last mammoth probably died about 4,000 years ago on Wrangel
Island, off the coast of Siberia (part of Russia).
The North American mammoths had all disappeared by about 9,000 years
ago. It seems possible that human hunters had a lot to do with this!
Like elephants, mammoths never forget- at least in our game!
Mammoth information links:
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Illinois State Museum
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Mammoth Site
Discovery Channel's Mammoth Site
Discovery Channel's Ice Age Giants Site
By Andy Hook & Immersive : Darren Ballingal, Daniel Zabinskas & Evan
Harridge
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