ArticleBody:Despite multiple attempts to resurrect woolly mammoths, the ancient animal species currently remains very much extinct. Their last known population—a group isolated by rising sea levels on Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast—managed to survive 6,000 years before finally disappearing roughly 10,000 years ago. But unlike the dinosaurs, what specifically caused the Wrangel mammoths to ultimately die out still remains a mystery.
After reviewing the collected data, Dalén and collaborators determined that Wrangel’s population initially started with at most 8 mammoths, yet managed to grow to somewhere between 200-300 animals within 20 generations despite clear signs of inbreeding and low genetic diversity. The team also discovered a reduced diversity in what’s known as the major histocompatibility complex, a genetic set crucial in vertebrate immune responses.