The Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) was a species of mammoth that inhabited the western hemisphere from Costa Rica to the northern United States during the Pleistocene epoch. It evolved from the steppe mammoth, which entered North America from Asia about 1.5 million years ago. Reaching 4 m (13 ft) at the shoulders and 8–10 tonnes (18,000–22,000 lb) in weight, the Columbian mammoth was one of the largest species of mammoth. It used its tusks and trunk for manipulating objects, fighting, and foraging. The species preferred open areas and fed on sedge, grass, and other plants. Its range may have overlapped with that of the woolly mammoths, which inhabited the Arctic regions of Canada. Columbian mammoths coexisted in North America for a few thousand years with Palaeoamericans, who hunted them for food, used their bones to make tools, and depicted them in art. Columbian mammoth remains have been found in association with Clovis culture artefacts. The species disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago, most likely as a result of habitat loss caused by climate change, hunting by humans, or both.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_mammoth

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

661:

With the assassination of Ali, the fourth Sunni Rashidun Caliph and first Shia Imam, the Rashidun Caliphate, the first Arab caliphate founded after Muhammad's death in 632, effectively ended. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali

1863:

Indian Wars in North America: The United States Army led by Patrick Edward Connor massacred Chief Bear Hunter and forces of the Shoshone at the Bear River Massacre in present-day Franklin County, Idaho. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_River_Massacre

1944:

World War II: At least 38 people were killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) was attacked by Soviet partisan units. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koniuchy_massacre

1991:

Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji

2006:

India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irfan_Pathan

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

predestination: 1. (theology) The doctrine that everything has been foreordained by a God, especially that certain people have been elected for salvation, and sometimes also that others are destined for reprobation. 2. Destiny or fate. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/predestination

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others.   --Edward Abbey https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey