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COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Mammuthus columbi

COMPORTAMIENTO

Similar to living elephants, Columbian mammoths formed fission-fusion societies comprised of matriarchal families, bachelor associations & solitary bulls. 43,000-year-old trackways from Fossil Lake, Oregon infer that these mammoths lived in multi-generational herds that cared for one another in times of injury, sickness, or famine.
DIETA

Stable isotope & dental microwear analyses suggest Mammuthus columbi were mixed-feeders with adaptations for grazing. This is corroborated by coprolites found in caves across the Colorado Plateau, indicating they had a preference for grasses alongside woody plants, sedges, & cacti within their diets.

HÁBITAT
Columbian mammoths inhabited prairie, steppe, parkland, and savanna habitats ranging from southern Canada to Central America. M. columbi likely varied in regional & temporal movement patterns, with some herds & individual mammoths living within established home ranges and others following far-reaching migration pathways.

STATS
ESTIMATED MASS: 9500 - 8550 kg
HEIGHT AT SHOULDER: 420 - 380 cm
GROUP SIZE: 12
TEMPORAL RANGE: 1.5 Mya - 12,000 yr BP

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