The woolly mammoth, icon of the ice Age, is related to the African and Asian elephants, which are still around. The first mammoths actually originated in South Africa. Sea level variation and geographical changes must have made it possible for these ancient mammoths to extend their range from Africa to the European continent, some three million years ago. The latest in the line of evolution is the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius. Hundreds of thousands of remains of this species have been dredged from the North Sea floor. The woolly mammoth is the most studied prehistorical animal ever. Thanks to discovery of entire carcasses-mummified bodies with skin and hair, in the permafrost of Siberia, we know what these animals looked like. By examining the stomach contents and dung, we know what they ate. This information also tells us about the vegetation of the vast mammoth steppe. Palaeontologist have made comparisons with living elephants. Therefore, we know that there was a big difference between male (bulls) and female (cows) mammoths. The old bulls were the tallest and could
reach a shoulder height of more than three metres, while the cows had a much lower shoulder height (about 2,5 metres) and their tusks were also relatively small, more slender and less curved