A severely disabled mammoth - The palaeopathological evidence

The near-completeness of the skeleton provides a unique opportunity to search for evidence of skeletal disease and speculate on the cause of death. Of particular interest is the abnormal gross appearance of the right distal femur. The opposing right tibia was not located, but it was possible to determine that the femur abnormality was indicative of a long-standing knee injury with subluxation. The injury, per se, did not lead to the death of the animal, but may have compromised the animal's mobility sufficiently to have contributed to its demise.