A mammoth is a large, hairy mammal of the order Proboscidea. The word “mammoth” is derived from the Russian word мамонт (mamont), which itself is derived from the Tartaric word mämmet, meaning “earth-horn”.
Mammoths first appeared during the late Pliocene epoch (around 5 million years ago), and became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene epoch (around 10,000 years ago). The last known individual mammoth was a male named Yuka, who died on Wrangel Island in Russia in 1697. However, there have been unconfirmed sightings of mammoths as recently as 1900.
Mammoths were well-adapted to their cold environments, with thick fur coats and layers of fat that helped to insulate them from the cold. They also had large tusks and teeth that were suited for grinding down tough vegetation. Some species of mammoth were even able to use their tusks to dig through snow and ice to reach food beneath them.
Mammoths are thought to have gone extinct due to a combination of factors, including climate change and overhunting by humans. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in cloning mammoths from DNA recovered from frozen remains, in an attempt to bring them back from extinction.