The Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus Primigenis) was one of the several species of huge, hairy elephant that once roamed the earth. They were hunted for food by prehistoric humans until they died out some 10,000 years ago.

Humans armed with spears hunted the huge animal well. As well as the flesh, humans used mammoth's hide for clothing anf for stretching over the roofs of their huts. The supports for their homes were also sometimes built with mammoth tusks and bones. The sabre-toothed cat, which is also extinct is believed to have also preyed upon it. Wolf packes may have been able to kill mammoths, particularly vulnerable calves.

Remains of the woolly mammoth have been found in Siberia, across much of northern Europe and the British Isles, northern Eurasia and North America. The woolly mammoth survived until the end of the last Ice Age. Larger than today's elephant, the woolly mammoth had tusks that were up to five metres long. It survived Arctic temperatures as it had extra fat stores and a hairy coat. Evidence suggests that large herds once crossed the steppes, grazing on the vast, open grasslands.

A few near-complete specimens of woolly mammot have been discovered deep-frozen in the Arctic tundra. Stone Age carvings in Rouflignac caves, in France also depict the woolly mammoths. So many remains of the woolly mammoth have been found that there is still a trade for mammoth ivory in parts of Siberia.