He hypothesizes a plague struck the mammoths thousands of years ago. It is even possible that humans inadvertently introduced the virus or germs as they spread into the mammoths' habitat. If disease played a role, Greenwood hopes genetic material from the virus or bacteria is also preserved in the frozen carcass in Siberia. While he is anxiously looking forward to what the mammoth DNA can tell him, Greenwood all but dismisses the idea of a Jurassic Park -style cloning. He is not alone.
Most scientists agree it is premature to talk of cloning the woolly mammoth.
The overall condition of the animal is unknown, even though some fur and flesh was spotted after a small patch of ice was melted with a hair dryer. One scientist involved estimates it will take at least a year just to defrost the carcass, which is still sitting inside a 23-ton piece of ice. Unknown Contents Mammoth remains, in the forms of bones, tusks and teeth, are relatively plentiful, found in much of the northern Hemisphere, the elephant's former habitat. However, DNA is scant or absent in most skeletal remains. The frozen body of a woolly mammoth was found in Russia.