Adams Mammoth - Paleobiology

Paleobiology

Adult woolly mammoths could easily defend themselves from predators with their pointed tusks and strong trunks, as well as their sheer size, but juveniles and weakened adults were vulnerable to pack hunters, such as wolves, cave hyenas and large felines. The tusks could also had been used in intra specific fighting, such as territorial fights or fights over mates. Due to their curve, the tusks were not suitable for stabbing, but were perhaps used for hitting, as indicated by injury on some fossil shoulder blades. As in modern elephants, the sensitive and muscular trunk worked as a limb-like organ for the woolly mammoth, and functioned in many important ways. It was used for manipulating objects, as well as in social interaction. The very long hairs on the tail were probably supposed to compensate for the shortness of the tail itself, so that it could still be used as a flyswatter, like the tail on living elephants. Similar to reindeer and musk oxen, the haemoglobin of the woolly mammoth was adapted to the cold, with three genetic mutations to improve oxygen delivery around the body and prevent freezing. This feature may have helped the mammoths in exploiting environments in high-latitudes.

Like modern elephants, woolly mammoths were likely very social, and lived in matriarchal family groups. This is indicated by fossil assemblages, and by cave paintings showing groups. It is therefore probably that most of their other social behaviour were similar to those of modern elephants too. Trackways made by a woolly mammoth herd 11,300–11,000 years ago have been found in the St. Mary Reservoir in Canada. They show that there was an almost equal amount of adults, sub-adults and juveniles. The adults had a stride of 2 m (6.5 ft), and the juveniles ran to keep track.

Evidence of several different bone diseases have been found in woolly mammoth individuals. The most common of such diseases was osteoarthritis, which is found in 2% of specimens. One specimen from Switzerland had several fused vertebrae as a result of this condition. The "Yukagir Mammoth" had suffered from ankylosing spondylitis in two vertebrae, and osteomyelitis is also known from some specimens. Several specimens also show healed bone fractures, which shows the individuals had survived the damage.