This study provides unprecedented insight into the life of mammoths 17,000 years ago

An international research team reviewed the shocking lifelong journey of an Arctic mammoth, which covered most of Alaska in 28 years and could circumnavigate the earth almost twice

Scientists analyzed a 17,000-year-old fossil at the University of Alaska's Northern Museum and collected unprecedented details about its life

Little details about the life and activities of mammoths are known, and this study provides the first evidence that they travel long distances

Matthew Wooler, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, one of the lead authors of the paper, said: "It is not clear whether it is seasonal migration, but it covers some serious areas

Researchers at the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility (Woller is the director of the facility) cut the 6-foot-long ivory longitudinally and generated approximately 400,000 microscopic data points using laser and other techniques

The detailed isotope analysis they did is possible because of the way mammoth tusks grow

"From the moment they are born to the day they die, they have a diary written in their ivory," Pat Drew, curator and paleontologist at UA Museum of the North Ken Miller (Pat Druckenmiller) said

Scientists know that this mammoth died on the northern slope north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska.

The researchers analyzed the isotope characteristics of the strontium and oxygen elements in the mammoth ivory to piece together the mammoth’s journey up to that time.

Using local data sets, they mapped the isotope changes across Alaska, providing a baseline for tracking huge movements

The ancient DNA preserved in the remains of this mammoth allowed the research team to determine that it was a male mammoth and was related to the last group of mammoths living in mainland Alaska

For example, its isotope characteristics, ecology, and movement suddenly changed around the age of 15, which may coincide with the time when this mammoth was driven out of the herd, which reflects the patterns of some modern male elephants

"Knowing that he is a male provides us with a better biological background for interpreting isotope data," said Sharpie, a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz and a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Isotopes also provide clues that led to the death of this animal

"It's amazing that we can see this data and what we can do with it," said Clement Bataille, a researcher at the University of Ottawa
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He collaborated with Amy Willis of the University of Washington to lead this modeling effort
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Uller, a professor at the UAF School of Fisheries and Oceanography and the Northern College of Engineering, said that discovering more about the lives of extinct species is more than just satisfying curiosity
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These details may be surprisingly relevant today, because many species adjust their movement patterns and ranges as the climate changes
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Wooler said: "A lot of changes are taking place in the Arctic now, and we can use the past to see how the future of today and future species may develop
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" "Trying to solve this detective story is how our planet and ecosystems face environmental changes.
An example of reaction
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