Mammoths were large, extinct animals that belong to the family Elephantidae. They were closely related to modern elephants and were adapted to living in cold environments during the last ice age.

The most well-known species of mammoth is the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), which had a thick layer of fur to protect it from the cold. Woolly mammoths ranged across North America, Europe, and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch, and they went extinct around 4,000 years ago.

Other species of mammoths include the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), which was found in North America, and the pygmy mammoth (Mammuthus exilis), which lived on the Channel Islands off the coast of California.