Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) may have moved like modern elephants with infants in matriarchal groups. That’s according to a team of U.S. paleontologists who analyzed numerous footprints of adult, juvenile and infant mammoths recently found at the Pleistocene locality of Fossil Lake in central Oregon.
Footprints of Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi), dated to 43,000 years ago, are seen in a portion of a trackway that was uncovered by Retallack et al in 2017 in an ancient dry lake bed in Lake County, Oregon. Image credit: Greg Shine, Bureau of Land Management.
Museum of Natural and Cultural History paleontologist Professor Greg Retallack and colleagues found 117 Columbian mammoth tracks, including one adult trail, partial trackways of 3 additional adults, a yearling and a baby all heading generally west.
The researchers zeroed in on a 20-footprint track, dating to roughly 43,000 years ago, that exhibited some intriguing features.
“These prints were especially close together, and those on the right were more deeply impressed than those on the left-as if an adult mammoth had been limping,” Professor Retallack explained.
“But the limping animal wasn’t alone. Two sets of smaller footprints appeared to be approaching and retreating from the limper’s trackway.”
“These juveniles may have been interacting with an injured adult female, returning to her repeatedly throughout the journey, possibly out of concern for her slow progress,” he added.
“Such behavior has been observed with wounded adults in modern, matriarchal herds of African elephants.”
The tracks were made in a layer of volcanic soil at Fossil Lake, a site first excavated by University of Oregon’s Professor Thomas Condon in 1876 and today administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
They were mapped and documented using photogrammetry, which helps scientists perform accurate measurements based on land-based or aerial photographs.
“Trace fossils such as trackways can provide unique insights into natural history,” Professor Retallack said.
“Tracks sometimes tell more about ancient creatures than their bones, particularly when it comes to their behavior.”
“It’s amazing to see this kind of interaction preserved in the fossil record.”
The findings appear in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
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Gregory J. Retallack et al. Late Pleistocene mammoth trackway from Fossil Lake, Oregon. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, published online January 31, 2018; doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.037
