Mammoths, large extinct mammalian animals, lived long before humans learned to work iron. About 4,000 years ago, the era of these creatures came to an end. However now, thanks to paleontological findings and science, we can imagine what they were like.

The animals adapted well to the cold environment. Mammoths were massive, stocky, with short legs and small ears. A hump protruded from their back. The entire body was covered with a thick fur hanging down the belly and the upper part of the limbs. The thick, dense undercoat hair, covered by stiff guard hairs, protected the animal from the cold.

The color of the coat varied from brown, almost black in some places, to yellowish-brown and reddish. The tusks — strongly developed upper incisors — enhanced the appearance of the mammoths. They were pointed downward and somewhat sideways as they emerged from the jaw, and their ends curved inward, toward each other. The tusks of large males reached 4 meters in length, and their weight was up to 110 kilograms.

These mammals gathered in herds and roamed from one pasture to another. Their diet included grasses, grains, tree branches and tree bark. In winter, mammoths dug up food from under the snow. The daily norm of an animal was about a quarter of a ton of vegetation, which forced the animals to spend about 18 hours daily looking for food and fresh pastures.

The teeth of these animals were characterized by high durability. The researchers noted the good state of preservation of the specimens they managed to find. Indeed, teeth are the most frequently encountered remains. By the teeth of the mammoth, it is possible to determine to which specific species the animal belonged, as well as its approximate age, and in some cases even the sex.

When the last of the teeth wore off, the animal lost its ability to feed and died. Mammoth teeth, which are in the collection of the Kamchatka Regional United Museum, were found in several places in Kamchatka. In August 1974, the lower jaw of a mammoth replenished the museum’s collection. The researchers found it in the Kamchatka River valley.