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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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