The woolly mammoth was one of the last in a line of mammoth species. Its
appearance and behaviour are among the best studied of any prehistoric
animal due to the discovery of frozen carcasses (example pictured) in
Siberia and Alaska, as well as skeletons, teeth, stomach contents, dung,
and depiction from life in prehistoric cave paintings. The animal was
only identified as an extinct species of elephant by Georges Cuvier in
1796. Its closest extant relative is the Asian elephant. The woolly
mammoth was well adapted to the cold environment during the last ice
age, and had long, curved tusks. Its habitat was the mammoth steppe,
which stretched across northern Eurasia and North America. The woolly
mammoth coexisted with early humans, who used its bones and tusks for
making art, tools, and dwellings, and the species was also hunted for
food. It disappeared from its mainland range at the end of the
Pleistocene 10,000 years ago, most likely through a combination of
climate change, consequent disappearance of its habitat, and hunting by
humans. Recreation through cloning has been proposed, but this is as yet
infeasible; the ethics of this have also been questioned.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolly_mammoth>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1648:
The second treaty of the Peace of Westphalia, the Treaty of
Münster, was signed, ending both the Thirty Years' War and the Dutch
Revolt, and officially recognizing the Republic of the Seven United
Netherlands and Swiss Confederation as independent states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia>
1851:
William Lassell discovered the Uranian moons Umbriel and Ariel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_(moon)>
1912:
First Balkan War: Serbian forces defeated the Ottoman army at
the Battle of Kumanovo in Vardar Macedonia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kumanovo>
1944:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese battleship Musashi, one of
the heaviest and most powerfully armed ever constructed, was sunk in the
Battle of Leyte Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Musashi>
1964:
The military court of South Vietnamese junta chief Nguyen Khanh
acquitted Generals Dương Văn Đức and Lâm Văn Phát of leading a
coup attempt against Khanh, despite the pair's proclamation of his
overthrow during their military action.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A2m_V%C4%83n_Ph%C3%A1t>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
miniver:
A light gray or white fur used to trim the robes of judges or state
executives, used since medieval times.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miniver>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Perhaps he will not return.
But what we have lived comes back to us.
We see more.
We feel, as our rings
increase, something that lifts our branches, that stretches our furthest
leaf-tips further.
--Denise Levertov
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Denise_Levertov>