Forbes July 4, 2024
Rising sea levels around 10,000 years ago transformed Wrangel Island into a final refuge for the woolly mammoths, isolating them from their mainland counterparts. As the world’s climate continued to warm and habitats changed, Wrangel Island became one of the last viable environments where these mammoths could survive, setting the stage for their final chapter.
A prevailing theory for the extinction of isolated populations like the woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island often points to inbreeding. Inbreeding can reduce a population’s genetic variability and increase the spread of harmful genetic mutations, leading to decreased survival and reproduction rates. A striking example is the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, which suffered from reduced genetic diversity due to severe inbreeding before its extinction in...
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