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Wooly mammoths were alive 4,000 years ago on Wrangel Island, 80 miles north of the coast of Siberia. That was when the great pyramids were being built. They had no predators, including humanity, on the island. The climate and diversity of ice age plant life they needed to survive remained constant giving them a sheltered existence.
A small herd of around 10 or less mammoths arrived in the area 10,000 years ago, which was first a peninsula of land, and then became an island. This kept humans and other predators away from them. There weren't any other grazing animals to compete against either.
The herd grew to around 600 individuals and remained stable for 6,000 years. At this time it appears that the herd did not slowly die out but disappeared suddenly. Speculation includes a virus from migrating birds, severe climate change, perhaps a large fire which burned up all the tundra.
Even though there was low genetic diversity, and inbreeding caused inherited conditions, the good environment, including lack of predators, allowed the herd to prosper and overcome their weaknesses. Any particularly fatal diseases were probably bred out by the death of the carriers.
If they hadn't encountered the sudden downfall, they might have made it to modern times.
One take away from the article is that using a small population to rekindle an almost extinct species may need the addition of cloned individuals to provide missing genes to insure a robust genetic diversity to survive the long haul.
A small herd of around 10 or less mammoths arrived in the area 10,000 years ago, which was first a peninsula of land, and then became an island. This kept humans and other predators away from them. There weren't any other grazing animals to compete against either.
The herd grew to around 600 individuals and remained stable for 6,000 years. At this time it appears that the herd did not slowly die out but disappeared suddenly. Speculation includes a virus from migrating birds, severe climate change, perhaps a large fire which burned up all the tundra.
Even though there was low genetic diversity, and inbreeding caused inherited conditions, the good environment, including lack of predators, allowed the herd to prosper and overcome their weaknesses. Any particularly fatal diseases were probably bred out by the death of the carriers.
If they hadn't encountered the sudden downfall, they might have made it to modern times.
One take away from the article is that using a small population to rekindle an almost extinct species may need the addition of cloned individuals to provide missing genes to insure a robust genetic diversity to survive the long haul.