Dear Sara,
What’s the difference between a mastodon and a mammoth?
An Elephant Fan,
Jane F.
Dear Jane,
Mammoths and mastodons both belong to the Eliphantidae species of mammals. Mastodons’ teeth were better equipped for “browsing,” that is, eating leaves off of trees, while mammoths’ teeth were more suited for grazing grass and other ground-bound vegetation. Mammoths had more dramatically curved tusks and are believed to be more closely related to modern Asian elephans, while mastodons are thought to be closer to modern African elephants. Both had woolly coats. Mammoths are believed to have existed in North America as recently as ten thousand years ago. It is not clear whether climate change, over-hunting by humans, a combination of both and/or other factors resulted in their extinction.
It’s In The Bag,
Sara Bellum, Editor-at-Large Buzzy Mag
