One of the largest land mammals that ever lived was the woolly mammoth. Woolly mammoths were very large, elephant-like creatures covered in long, thick, warm hair. They needed their warm coats because they lived during the last ice age. They became extinct thousands of year ago. In places such as Siberia, in Russia, thousands of woolly mammoths became mummies after they died. Today, some of these frozen mummies can be found in very good condition
One person who has spent many years studying woolly mammoths is the French explorer Bernard Buigues. To find the mammoths, Buigues relies on tribes that live in the frozen Taimay Peninsula. The Dolgans knew of many places where frozen woolly mammoths could be found and often used mammoths tusks for tools.
In 1998 the Dolgans led Buigues to an almost perfectly preserved mammoth. The following year, Buigues organized an expedition to dig the mammoth out of the ground anf take it to a special laboratory to be studied. The biggest challenge was to remove the mammoth to cut out a 20-tonne block of ice. At the end of October a helicopter arrived and carried the block 320 kilometres to the laboratory. Because of this expedition, the world will have a greater understanding of these huge animals