ice age

Ever since the dawn of life on Earth more than three billion years ago, the world has periodically undergone catastrophic changes. One era ends, another begins, and living things in all corners of the globe suffer and die on a vast scale. In between, stability allows life to recover, even flourish, in new conditions.

The last populations of woolly mammoths lived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Siberia. Comparison of specimens from Wrangel Island and the Siberian mainland show that the island populations accumulated a number of genetic mutations that would adversely affect the last living mammoths.

The relationship between dog and man is an ancient love that has carried on for thousands of years. Now we have a few secrets that may shed some light on the origins of this bond – puppies dug up from the Ice Age permafrosts of Yakutia, Russia.

Scientists never expected to find remains of saber-toothed cats in the grasslands of Argentina's Pampas region. But research indicates these animals hunted the plains of South America during the last ice age.

Gigantic one-horned beasts once roamed the frozen steppes and tundra of Siberia. They were a species of rhino, more than two meters at the shoulder who grazed these areas in huge numbers during the last Ice Age. That is, until their extinction.

In the middle of the city of Los Angeles lies one of the most important fossil sites in all the world. The La Brea tar pits preserve an Ice Age eden beyond the grip of the huge glaciers that leveled North America.

The cave lion was a highly successful and adaptable predator that ruled the steppes of Ice Age Eurasia with an iron paw. Now, with the discovery of two cubs in the Siberian permafrost there is talk of bringing this magnificent creature to life. But should we?

Scientists use DNA analysis on Megaloceros (or Irish Elk) bones to determine that the Giant Deer survived well past the peak of the Ice Age in Southern Germany.

Cougars coexisted with five other big cats in North America during the last Ice Age, and while other species perished it managed to survive. The secret of its resilience may have been a lenient diet.