Scientists defined a reason of extinction of wooly mammoths
According to the investigation of American paleontologists published in the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, mammoths in the area of Bering Sea were deprived of the access to fresh water as far as the climate became warmer, consequently, small lakes of the island dried up.
Most part of mammoths in the world died nearly 10.5 thousand years ago, however, colony at the island of Saint Paul tided over five thousand years more.
‘We know that modern elephant needs from 70 to 200 liters of water a day. We supposed that mammoths needed the same portion. In such a way the source of water could have dried quite quickly’, the head of investigation, professor of Pennsylvanian University Russel Graham told.
As the researchers suppose, the story of mammoths from the island of Saint Paul shows what endangers endemic animals at small parts of dry land and nowadays in case of climate change.
The last in time population of mammoth who disappeared from the surface of the Earth were proboscideans of Wrangel Island which now relates to RussianChukotka, particularly, there they died nearly four thousand years ago.
Concerning the reasons of extinction of mammoths, paleontologists put forward a plenty of supposals starting from the changes of climate to the destruction by predators and humans. In small isolated populations genetic illnesses reflected because of consanguineous mating could represent danger.
