Columbian Mammoth

The ***Columbian Mammoth*** (*Mammuthus columbi*) is a genus of hairless mammoth that originated during the Late Pleistocene in what is now North America. Physical identical to the *Woolly Mammoth*, standing 4 meters tall and weighing 10 tons, the *Columbian Mammoth* differs from the *Woolly Mammoth* by having little to almost no hair.

In the Series 3 finale "***Mammoth's Undertaking Journey***", A female Columbian Mammoth and her calf followed the team through the portal from Late Pleistocene Montana 11,000 years ago. The female went on a rampage after Sue scared her calf until the team reunited the female with her calf. Later, a herd of a dozen Columbian Mammoths were brought to the park from Late Pleistocene Montana 11,000. They reside in the Mammoth Tundra Enclosure with their woolly relatives and other animals.

## Facts

### Era & Discovery

The *Columbian Mammoth* lived in and roamed through the Southern United States, Mexico, and Central America from the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene, around 1.5 million to eight thousand years ago. The *Columbian mammoth* was first scientifically described in 1857 by naturalist Hugh Falconer, who named the species *Elephas columbi* after the explorer Christopher Columbus.

### Physical Attributes

The *Columbian Mammoth* was a species of mammoth, distinguishable for being hairless and thus resembling a larger version of modern elephants. Reaching about 4 m (13 ft) tall at the shoulders and weighing about 10 tons (20,000 lbs) in weight, the *Columbian mammoth* was one of the largest species of mammoth, larger than the modern African elephants and the *Woolly mammoth*.

Males were generally larger and more robust. The *Columbian Mammoth* had long, curved tusks and four molars, which were replaced six times during the lifetime of an individual. Like other mammoths, the *Columbian mammoth* had a high, single-domed head and a sloping back with a high shoulder hump; this shape resulted from the spinous processes (protrusions) of the back vertebrae decreasing in length from front to rear. Juveniles, though, had convex backs like Asian elephants.

### Behavior & Traits

The *Columbian Mammoth* was apparently a herd animal, due to which a *Columbian Mammoth* would react with panic when alone and separated from its herd. Though females were friendly herbivores to other animals whom they sensed meant them no harm, Male *Columbian Mammoths* were very powerful and extremely dangerous creatures when they were in musth, just like *Woolly Mammoths* and elephants; lashing out and using their immense strength to destroy anything around them that set them off.

The *Columbian mammoth* preferred open areas, such as parkland landscapes, and fed on sedges, grasses, and other plants. It did not live in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of Canada, Alaska, and the Northern United States which were instead inhabited by *Woolly mammoths*, though there is evidence that the 2 species interbred at times to create the Jefferson's Mammoth.

## Trivia

* The *Columbian Mammoth* is one of the two species of mammoth brought to the park, the other being the smaller and hairier *Woolly Mammoth*.
* The sound effects for the *Columbian Mammoth* are typical elephant sounds.