The woolly mammoth skeleton has found its permanent home at Barcelona's CosmoCaixa museum after touring several Spanish cities. This emblematic piece, made from bones of three Russian specimens, now draws visitors in the Evolution hall. Museum officials highlight its value in understanding our shared history with ancestors.
The spectacular woolly mammoth skeleton (Mammuthus primigenius) at CosmoCaixa, 6 meters long and 3.5 meters high, has been installed in the Universe hall, facing the Flooded Forest, surrounded by other paleontological remains and depictions of prehistoric ancestors who hunted this species.
Made from original bones of three specimens found in the permafrost of Russia's Tiumén region, the fossil dates from 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Acquired in the United States for half a million euros, it starred in a 2021 traveling exhibition at CaixaForum sites in Seville, Zaragoza, Madrid, Palma, and Tarragona, attracting 308,000 visitors. It now joins the museum's permanent collection as an emblematic piece.
Paleontologist Steve Brusatte describes a solitary male mammoth in his book Rise and Reign of the Mammals (Debate, 2024): “The wind whipped from the northeast, pelting his woolly orange coat with snow. The sun was low; twilight loomed. Unfazed, the male raised his shaggy trunk to the sky and trumpeted, as if challenging the elements.”
At the unveiling, director Valentí Farràs and Javier Hidalgo, head of Exhibitions and Science Activities at the La Caixa Foundation, emphasized the fascination with mammoths, whose history intertwines with humans who used their remains for food, clothing, and art. Hidalgo stated: “Fossils are a gift and a miracle,” highlighting the harsh and sometimes illegal excavations, insisting they belong in museums.
CosmoCaixa offers activities including a video of the assembly, a guided tour Mammoth Hunters, and a five-episode podcast on de-extinction efforts. Naming the mammoth via public vote is under consideration.
Woolly mammoths, elephant relatives sharing 98.55% DNA, went extinct about 4,000 years ago, though a population persisted on Wrangel Island until then. Adapted to cold with varied fur colors, they weighed up to 6 tons with tusks up to 4.2 meters.