Comments on: Mysteries of the Oimyakon Baby Mammoth

By: dogu4

dogu4 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:38:09 +0000

I remain thoroughly enthralled by the possibilities of one day seeing a reconstructed “Pleistocene Park” re-wilded with modern day proxies either by cloning or genetically engineered modern elephants.
I recall reading about an earlier baby mammont nicked named “dima” from back a decade or two ago. One interesting aspect of baby Dima was the presence of a muscular process on the end of its trunk hwould have given it a disinctive “winged” look the function of which was unknown, but it was speculated then that it might have been vital for mammoths. All elephants are dependent on water for their digestive processes and yet at these high latitudes water is scarce in winter, and was particularly so in the Pleistocene climate regime. One researcher, perhaps Dale Guthrie of the the U of A in Fairbanks, suggested that a scoop like featrue might aid in scraping frost from the dry tundra as well as from their long fur which would have been very effective in capturing vital moisture as it condensed and froze as crystaline rime. An intriguing possibility that points to the very different quality of the landscape for which these huge animals may have been adapted, and unlike any that we know of today.

By: shumway10973

shumway10973 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:44:13 +0000

Jurassic park part (is it 4 or 5 now?). Very interesting. I do think it interesting that some believe they survived in (of all the places for a hairy hephelump to live) India. Apparently there are stories that the elephants used to make to Taj Mahal (I hope I spelled that right) were covered in long hair and had extremely long tusks. Someone actually went out into the jungle near by to try to find them, but to no avail. His excuse for not finding any was due to the vegetation, some of it was as tall as his elephant.

By: Maine Crypto

Maine Crypto — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:18:37 +0000

This was an interesting article. When I was younger, on a family trip out west, we saw a baby mammoth, they are fascinating!

By: Richard888

Richard888 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:14:18 +0000

Although genetic engineering has a bad name, one good application would be to recreate specimens that have become extinct for the museums/zoos of the future.

By: plant girl

plant girl — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:17:11 +0000

Amazing photograph the baby mammoth looks similar to a baby elephant. The article was also very interesting. I hope the researches can find out more about the mammoth during its time on earth.