Located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, Wrangel Island is a 7,600 km² enclave, equivalent in size to Crete. It is part of Russia’s Chukotka Autonomous District and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004 due to its unique biodiversity and historical significance.
The island is also the place where Ada Blackjack spent two years completely alone, after the failure of the expedition in which she participated and which in 1921 tried to claim the island for Canada.
Beyond its natural beauty and its rich Arctic fauna, Wrangel holds a fascinating secret: it was the last known refuge of woolly mammoths, which survived here thousands of years after becoming extinct elsewhere in the world.
The island, with geography ranging from coastal plains to mountains and steep cliffs, has a geological history as diverse as its fauna. Its rock layers, dating from the Precambrian and Mesozoic eras, tell a story of tectonic and erosive processes that shaped the current landscape.
Despite its extreme latitude, Wrangel was never fully covered by glaciers, allowing cold-adapted species to thrive in its valleys and meadows.
This geographic and climatic isolation is precisely what allowed woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) to survive on Wrangel until around 2000 B.C., at a time when major civilizations like Egypt and Mesopotamia were already flourishing.
Woolly mammoths, which had dominated the steppes of Eurasia and North America during the last Ice Age, disappeared from the mainland approximately 10,000 years ago due to a combination of climate factors and hunting pressure by humans. However, on Wrangel, a small population became isolated, shielded from drastic climate changes and human impact.
The discovery of these mammoths on Wrangel has been a milestone in paleontology. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that these animals persisted about 6,000 years longer than their mainland relatives. Despite their relative isolation, genetic studies reveal that these mammoths were not a dwarf variant but had a size typical of Siberian mammoths.
However, the isolation led to an accumulation of harmful genetic mutations which, combined with local climatic changes and possibly human arrival, ultimately led to their extinction.
The archaeological record on Wrangel is limited but significant. At the site known as Chertov Ovrag, researchers have found stone tools, animal remains, and an ivory harpoon, indicating human presence around 1600 B.C., shortly after the disappearance of the mammoths. These early island inhabitants were likely Paleo-Eskimo hunter-fishers.
Legends of the Chukchi people, describing a land to the north inhabited by giants, may reflect a cultural memory of the mammoths that once roamed the region.
Beyond its paleontological legacy, Wrangel is an incomparable natural sanctuary. Today it is home to the highest density of polar bear dens in the world, as well as ringed and bearded seals, walruses, and a wide variety of migratory birds. The island also hosts a surprisingly rich Arctic flora, with more than 400 plant species.
This virtually untouched ecosystem has been protected as a nature reserve since 1976, with nearly all human activity restricted to preserve its delicate balance.
Today, Wrangel Island remains a focus of scientific research and a testament to nature’s ability to conserve species in extreme conditions.
The study of Wrangel’s woolly mammoths has provided invaluable lessons about the effects of genetic isolation and the risks faced by modern endangered species.
This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on January 14, 2025: La increíble Isla de Wrangel, el lugar donde los mamuts sobrevivieron hasta el año 2000 a.C.
SOURCES
Federal State Budget Institution, Wrangel Island-State Nature Reserve
UNESCO, Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve
Vartanyan SL, Arslanov KhA, Tertychnaya TV, Chernov SB. Radiocarbon Dating Evidence for Mammoths on Wrangel Island, Arctic Ocean, Until 2000 BC. Radiocarbon. 1995;37(1):1-6. doi:10.1017/S0033822200014703
Wikipedia, Isla de Wrangel
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