Woolly mammoths went extinct in stages , with most disappearing about 10,000 years ago and the very last small populations surviving on Arctic islands until roughly 4,000–4,100 years ago.

Quick Scoop

  • Most woolly mammoths vanished from their main range (the “mammoth steppe” across Eurasia and North America) by about 10,000 years ago as the last ice age ended.
  • Tiny, isolated groups survived much longer on remote Arctic islands such as Wrangel Island in the Siberian Arctic.
  • The best current evidence suggests the last woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island died out around 4,000–4,100 years ago, meaning they were still alive when the pyramids in Egypt were already standing.

So when people ask “when did woolly mammoths go extinct,” scientists usually answer:

Largely gone by about 10,000 years ago, with the final island populations surviving until around 4,000 years ago.

TL;DR: Most mammoths died out about 10,000 years ago, but a last, isolated group survived on an Arctic island until roughly 4,000 years ago.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.