Ghosts wean when weaning 4

Mammal feeding is not a simple task and requires a huge amount of milk from the mother elephant. A new study of the feeding habits of extinct mammoths thousands of years ago has shown that.

The analysis of the intact ivory of a baby mammoth has shown that the offspring are cared for by the mother for more than 4 years, and must depend on the very high calorie milk to survive in extreme weather in the Arctic.

"Ivory is a source of valuable data about the life of ancient mammoths and other tailed mammals. Like the tusks of modern elephants, the mammoth grows throughout life, creating one more every day. The new thin ivory layer for animals, "said Adam Rountrey at the University of Michigan Paleontology Museum.

By analyzing these ivory layers with ivory chemicals, researchers can estimate how many years the animal lives, its diet, whether the animal is malnourished or adopted by his mother. nourishment.

"However, an obstacle to reproducing the life history of mammoths is the tip of ivory, which contains the ivory layers that were formed at birth, often worn or broken. That means is the earliest record of a lack of life, "Rountrey said.

The researchers analyzed the tusks of a young mammoth from the island of Wrangel, in northeastern Siberia, which has an almost intact head. To determine if the elephant was weaned, researchers examined ivory carbon and nitrogen.

"Milk has a higher nitrogen content and lower carbon content than the vegetables that the animal eats, and these differences occur in the ivory of the mother-cared elephant," Rountrey said.

The results show that weaning takes place slowly for at least 4 years, and may be more than 6 years.

"For African elephants, they usually wean about 5 years," said the head of the team, Professor Daniel Fisher at the University of Michigan.

At least until the third year of life, mammoths are fed high-fat milk, the result of their mothers hoarding fat and protein sources. Milk may have brought a large amount of calories to the offspring to resist in harsh Arctic conditions, ensuring sustained growth when there is no excess food.

Larry Agenbroad, a professor at Northern Arizona University, said the study recreated the life and death of ancient tailed beasts in a completely new and precise way, helping to accurately compare existing elephants. modern day.

MT ( according to Discovery )