Elmayuujay’eh spent the first years of his life in a small enclosure, like today’s young elephants. In middle age, he traveled more than 1000 kilometers to the northwest. He later returned to the interior of Alaska, where he was found dead at Swan Point.
Isotope analysis showed that Elmayuudjey’eh preferred the highlands and fed on plants in drier habitats. Although no weapons were found near his remains, his untimely death indicates that he was most likely the victim of a hunt.
DNA analysis showed that Elmayuudjey’eh was close to the baby mammoths found at the discovery site, but distantly related to animals found at the nearby Holtzman site. Researchers believe Elmayuudjey’eh was the leader of the herd.
The results of this study provide new information about the life and behavior of woolly mammoths and suggest that human hunting may have played a role in their local extinction in Alaska.
Source: Ferra
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