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Scientists to bring woolly mammoth back from the dead

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Can you ever imagine seeing a real woolly mammoth?

Well, scientists are said to be just two years away from bringing the woolly mammoth back from extinction.

The giant prehistoric creatures could roam the Earth for the first time in 4,500 years after researchers successfully merged genes from the long dead woolly mammoths with that of elephants.

Harvard scientists claim they are now within two years of creating a hybrid embryo that will have all the characteristics of the shaggy beasts.

It would have genes for mammoth features such as long hair, thick layers of fat, and cold-resistant blood.

Facts about woolly mammoths:

  • The woolly mammoth was roughly the same size as modern African elephants. Males reached shoulder heights between 2.7 and 3.4m and weighed up to 6 tonnes. Females reached 2.6–2.9m in shoulder heights and weighed up to 4 tonnes. A newborn calf weighed about 90 kilograms.
  • The woolly mammoth was well adapted to the cold environment during the last ice age. It was covered in fur, with an outer covering of long guard hairs and a shorter undercoat. The colour of the coat varied from dark to light. The ears and tail were short to minimise frostbite and heat loss.
  • It had long, curved tusks and four molars, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual.
  • Its behaviour was similar to that of modern elephants, and it used its tusks and trunk for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging.
  • The diet of the woolly mammoth was mainly grass.
  • Woolly mammoths could probably reach the age of 60.
  • Woolly mammoths used to co-exist with humans. Humans used their bones and tusks for making art, tools, and dwellings. They also hunted the mammoth for food.

26 Responses

  1. I think this would be amazing, i love animals and i love eliphants more, if they come back to life i will be super exited

  2. This is amazing it must of been quite difficult to handle I hope that they can bring lots of mammoths.

  3. This would be a really great idea! If it works… the consequences of it not working are dangerous. It could upset the natural habitat of whoever lives there though. And using technology to bring back animals is a bit weird. Imagine knowing you are just another piece in the human game!

  4. this would be dangerous for other wildlife and the creatures themselves along with the simple facts THEY’RE AS DEAD AS THE DODO (well more dead) and if we did where would we put them Alaska is crowded enough Antarctica hasn’t got enough plants for them and the north pole has the same problem

  5. I think it will be a good idea because the throught on them roaming the earth makes me wish the woolly mammoths where still hear

  6. Thats so cool i would. have never of thought that they could bring mammoths back from extinction. I think that is so amazing i would LOVE to see one in real life.

  7. Wow, that is soooo cool. But maybe the next thing they bring back will be a dinosaur and then it might be like what happend in Jurrasic Park.

  8. I can’t believe that there might be real mammoths. But where would you keep them? The habitat’s changed

  9. I kind of like animals from the ice age so I say they should bring it back from extingtion
    Think this would be pretty cool because they will not provoke them.

  10. I think it could upset other animal, but how are they going to do it?
    Like it can be very dangerous.

  11. It is against the law of nature to bring back an extinct creature. This is a violation of nature and if this happens we have done something terribly wrong.

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