Mammoth

Cold-adapted pachyderms, mammoths are well-adapted to their cold home. Once fully grown, they have few natural predators, thanks to their massive bulk and great strength. They are wanderers, travelling in herds across the frozen plains to seek out food wherever it is.
Mammoths are not confrontational. but neither are they easily pushed around. Hunting one usually requires a team of people, as a lone person could easily be stomped underfoot or be disemboweled by their tusks. Mammoths are also clever enough to use their trunk to hurl things at their enemies, including other enemies.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Mammoths are massive quadrupeds with stocky builds. They are covered in a thick layer of fur, which protects them from the cold. Two great curved tusks protrudes from their head, alongside a long trunk.

Biological Traits

Male mammoths tends to be larger than females.

Genetics and Reproduction

When food is plentiful, female mammoths will enter a period of estrus, which nearby male mammoths will detect. Multiple males will often compete for the female's attention, with female mammoths showing a preference for older males. Pregnancy lasts for almost two years and they give birth to a single calf, sometimes twins.

Growth Rate & Stages

Mammoth calfs are very dependent on their herd for survival. For the first couple of years, it lives almost exclusively off milk from their mother. Due to their smaller size, they also rely on the herd to help keep warm. Later on, they will start grazing for food. After twelve to fifteen years, male mammoths will leave the herd to either join an all-male herd or live alone. Female mammoths will stay in the herd.

Ecology and Habitats

The mammoth's body is designed to endure cold temperatures and they dislike hotter climates. As large, grazing animals, their presence keeps the grassland free of overgrowth by knocking over young trees and similar.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Mammoths graze on a variety of plants, eating shrubs, pinecones and shrubs, whatever is available really.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Mammoths live in herds. The primary herds are almost all female, except for young males, led by the oldest, which is referred to as the herd's matriarch. Males may also form their own herds.

Domestication

Mammoth's have been successfully domesticated. In colder areas, they may serve as an alternative to horses, slower but more capable of trudging through snow. They've also seen use in warfare as living siege engines, a roll they may still take nowadays in areas were conventional vehicles would have trouble moving about.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Mammoths meat is a stable diet for people who share territory with them. As these areas are also very cold, the mammoths fur is also used to make clothes, carpets or similar. Their tusks are valued for artistic purposes, the ivory used is scrimshaw and furniture. Some people who live alongside mammoths also drink their milk.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Mammoths have proven capable of adapting to any sphere with cold plains. Warmer environments tend to repulse them, but they can still be found in plenty of spheres.

Average Intelligence

Mammoths are highly intelligent animals, capable of problem solving, recognizing each other and themselves, and so on.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The trunk of the mammoth can detect a variety of scents over a long distance.

Scientific Name

Furrure Elephanti

Lifespan

75-100 years

Average Height

2.7-3.4 meters

Average Weight

5400 -5700 kilo

Average Length

7 - 7.5 meters