The last woolly mammoths survived for 6,000 years after the Ice Age. In 2024, scientists challenged the idea that inbreeding caused their extinction

For years, the disappearance of the last woolly mammoths seemed to have a straightforward explanation. A tiny population became isolated, interbred for thousands of years and eventually reached a point where its own genetics made survival impossible. That idea found its way into documentaries, textbooks and scientific discussions alike. A study published in Cell, titled “Temporal dynamics of woolly mammoth genome erosion prior to extinction”, in 2024 has reopened that conversation. By examining ancient DNA from mammoths spanning tens of thousands of years, scientists arrived at a different picture of their final chapter. The findings suggest that although the last mammoths carried the genetic marks expected in a small, isolated population, those changes alone do not explain why they vanished.Why the last woolly mammoths survived on Wrangel Island for 6,000 yearsThe final known population of woolly mammoths lived on Wrangel Island, a remote Arctic island north of mainland Siberia. According to EarthSky, these animals became separated from mainland populations roughly 10,000 years ago as rising sea levels isolated the island. While mammoths disappeared across most of their former ran...