Bold claim: a colossal ice-age giant roamed Anglesey 15,000 years ago, and modern science is just now uncovering the full story. But here’s where it gets intriguing... tiny samples from Myfanwy the mammoth’s tooth roots have been analyzed to pin down age, diet, and the ancient environment she lived in. In addition, the material has been sent off for ancient DNA testing to explore genetic connections with woolly mammoth populations across the globe. We expect those DNA results within a few months, which could shed new light on Myfanwy’s ancestry and relationships.
Barry Hillier, a museum trustee, explained that scientists are still awaiting DNA findings, which are currently being examined in Sweden. The team hopes to determine Myfanwy’s sex once those results are in. “We christened her Myfanwy to give her a Welsh name, and we’ve adopted it as a female mammoth,” Hillier noted. “We didn’t have evidence confirming sex at the time, but it seemed like a fitting choice. We may have to revisit the name later if it turns out to be male.”
Dr. Neil Adams, curator of fossil mammals at the Natural History Museum in London, called the dating results “very interesting.” He points out that Myfanwy is part of a small cohort of mammoths that recolonized Britain after the Last Glacial Maximum—the coldest stage of the last Ice Age about 20,000 years ago. Other fossils in this group come from Condover (Shropshire), Pin Hole and Robin Hood’s Cave (Derbyshire), and Gough’s Cave (Somerset), with dates ranging roughly from 14,700 to 14,100 years ago.
According to Adams, Myfanwy may be the oldest member of this post-glacial repopulation group and the first from Wales, potentially providing the strongest new estimate for when woolly mammoths re-entered Britain.
Beyond the timeline, the research paints a vivid picture of Anglesey’s landscape 15,000 years ago. For mammoths like Myfanwy to thrive there, the once-immense ice sheet covering the island would have had to retreat enough to create grassland. tooth analyses reveal Myfanwy’s diet aligned with typical woolly mammoths: grasses and other flora common to open, treeless steppe habitats.
Nitrogen data suggest a moderately moist, not overly arid environment, indicating her grazing grounds were relatively well-watered and possibly less crowded by other large herbivores. The pronounced wear on her teeth implies extended grazing on tough vegetation, and by matching tooth wear with observations from modern elephants, scientists estimate she died at about 32 years old—well short of the typical woolly mammoth lifespan of around 70 years.
In short, Myfanwy’s story helps anchor our understanding of post-glacial Britain’s fauna and climate, while offering a tangible link to how these ancient creatures navigated evolving landscapes. The combination of age, diet, environment, and genetic clues will, researchers hope, refine the timeline of mammoth recolonization in Britain and deepen our appreciation for Anglesey’s remote past. Do you think the DNA results will shift our view of mammoth dispersal, or will they mostly confirm what we already suspect? Share your take in the comments.
