H.sapiens, Sorghum River Mammoth, African Elephant Image: Asiertxo The largest elephant that ever lived was huge, taller than your two stories Mayfair flat and almost as tall as the average telephone pole. Evolved from smaller Siberian mammoths, the Sorghum River Mammoth roamed Northern China and Inner Mongolia during the Middle Pleistocene about 280,000 years ago. It survived into the Late Pleistocene but died out well before the end of the last ice age. Fossils of the Sorghum River Mammoth are rare. The largest mammals in any group are never common because several factors set limits on population numbers. An elephant of this size would have a long maturation period, and breed slowly with only one or two offspring born at one time. Daily caloric requirements - pounds of grass and other fodder - would be huge and require that these huge beasts eat continuously 24/7. Brunch with second and third portions at no extra charge would There is an original Sorghum River Mammoth in the Inner Mongolia Museum, which was constructed from the remains of two individuals. A skeleton of a large male in a Japanese museum is 17 ft tall and 30 ft long from tip of the trunk to tip of the tail. Estimated weight is 10 tones and the metrics of this huge male represent maximum size for the Sorghum River Mammoth. In China, there is a Sorghum Mammoth skeleton on exhibit at the Daging Museum that is a 13-14 year old male from the late Upper Pleistocene with a body length of 6m and height of 3.5m. It was found in 2003 and is nearly identical to that in a museum in Shenzhen. Remains of more than 150 Sorghum River Mammoths have been found in China, but most of the fossil evidence is bits and pieces, fragments of teeth, limb bones and the skull. There were scattered human groups in Northern China at the time of the Sorghum River Mammoth. Archeologists in Africa working on early human ancestor sites have established that the biggest elephants in Africa were occasionally hunted and we can assume that was also true for Pleistocene hunters in China and Mongolia. The effort and danger were worth it - one successful elephant hunt and the clan had steak for several weeks. But a word or two of caution. Elephants are very smart. Centuries ago in Asia, they were trained for hard labor in the forest and at construction projects, as battle tanks in war, and prestigious transport for royalty. If pursued and injured by hunters, elephants will often turn around and look for their human enemy, then charge and try to kill the hunter who attacked them. Just imagine getting chased by a Sorghum River Mammoth! … The huge head lowers, and the mammoth charges. You can’t outrun it and soon the trunk wraps around your waist. As you rise into the air, the last things you hear in elephant speak is “Got you, little man, this is payback time!” and than all goes black… On second thought, forget about the mammoth hunt. It might be best for both mammoths and people that we have lentil soup for dinner. several weeks. have been a requirement every day of the week.