The last woolly mammoths on Earth had disastrous DNA

By Laura Geggel - Associate Editor 6 days ago

They were the last mammoths alive, but they weren't that healthy.

Dwarf woolly mammoths that lived on Siberia's Wrangel Island until about 4,000 years ago were plagued by genetic problems, carrying DNA that increased their risk of diabetes, developmental defects and low sperm count, a new study finds.

These mammoths couldn't even smell flowers, the researchers reported. 

"I have never been to Wrangel Island, but I am told by people who have that in the springtime, it's just basically covered in flowers," study lead researcher Vincent Lynch, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo in New York, told Live Science. "[The mammoths] probably couldn't smell any of that."

Wrangel Island is a peculiarity. The vast majority of woolly mammoths died out at the end of the last ice age, about 10,500 years ago. But because of rising sea levels, a population of woolly mammoths became trapped on Wrangel Island and continued living there until their demise about 3,700 years ago. This population was so isolated and so small that it didn't have much genetic diversity, the researchers wrote in the new study.

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Half of tigers rescued from Thai temple have died, officials say

Inbreeding blamed as only 61 of 147 big cats survive after removal from tourist attraction

Agence France-Presse

Mon 16 Sep 2019 11.05 BST

More than half of the 147 tigers confiscated from a Thai temple have died, park officials have said, blaming genetic problems linked to inbreeding at the once money-spinning tourist attraction.

For years, the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple in the western province of Kanchanaburi attracted hordes of tourists who could be photographed – for a fee – next to scores of tigers.

But in 2016 park officials began a lengthy operation to remove the big cats amid allegations of mismanagement and claims the creatures were being exploited.

Dozens of dead cubs were found in freezers, sparking claims the carcasses were being sold by a temple rumoured to have raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from visitors.

Tiger parts can fetch enormous sums in China and Vietnam, where some people falsely believe them to have medicinal properties.

The surviving adults were taken to two breeding stations in nearby Ratchaburi province but only 61 of the 147 have survived so far, parks officials said.

“It could be linked to inbreeding,” said Pattarapol Maneeon of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. “They had genetic problems which posed risks to body and immune system.”

Many suffered from tongue paralysis, breathing problems and lack of appetite that led to fatal seizures.

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