The extinction of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in Europe

Together with several other megafaunal species in Northern Eurasia, Mammuthus primigenius and Palaeoloxodon antiquus became extinct in the Last Glacial-Interglacial cycle, but they had very different ecologies, times of extinction and 'last stands' in different regions. The dramatic contraction in mammoth range ca. 12 kyr (uncalibrated 14C chronology), after which known populations were confined to Northern Siberia (mainly Taymyr and Wrangel Island), correlates well with the extensive spread of trees in the Allerød phase of the Late Glacial Interstadial. The return of open steppe-tundra in the Younger Dryas cold phase, ca. 10.6-10 kyr, saw a limited re-expansion into NE Europe, followed by retraction and apparent extinction of mainland populations, which can be correlated with the marked loss of open habitats in the early Holocene. In contrast, at the end of the Last Interglacial, the retreat of P. antiquus to S. Europe, where it may have survived to ca. 50-34 kyr, can be linked to the loss of woodland habitats elsewhere. Although in both species, climate acting through vegetational changes evidently drove these range shifts, environmental change alone appears insufficient to account for extinctions. However, the possible role of human hunters is also still unclear.