Here’s an interesting article from National Geographic, which might be a little more credible than wiki
I’m not so sure this is true.
North America megafauna mostly went extinct about 10k years ago. That’s not really long enough for major changes to the ecosystem. Were there plant extinctions at that time as well? I’m sure there’s been studies of mammoth stomach contents. How much of what they ate still commonly grows?
And what were the non-human predators of mammoths? I bet none. Nothing preys on adult elephants, and the adults protect their young well. It’s old-age, disease, and elephant-on-elephant violence that takes them down. Mammoths would be little different.
I’m all in favor of reintroducing species to their original habitats. That usually means replacing a locally extinct population with a neighboring extant one. I don’t see any reason why [del]magic[/del] cloning couldn’t be used instead. Even, in a last resort, using placeholder species (e.g., tigers and elephants replacing sabertooths and mammoths).
I realize that the technological and logistical hurdles of bringing them back are by no means surmounted. I do, however, believe that in my lifetime there are decent odds that they will. As such, this thread was mostly meant as a hypothetical.
One thing that I wanted to disagree with was the idea that bears and wolves couldn’t hunt mammals. First off, woolly mammoths were only as big as the modern Indian Elephant. Second, large pack animals hunt by going after the old, sick, and young. I see no reasons why wolves couldn’t pick off the occasional mammoth. They have no problem going after caribou who are much larger than they are. I will admit that bears are probably opportunists, more than anything, when it comes to hunting. Still, I don’t doubt that a Kodiack could pick off the occasional mammoth if need be.
I tend to think that, if we could, we should bring back species that we undoubtedly played a role in erradicating (whether this is the case with the mammoth or not, while still up for debate, seems likely). Someone commented that ecosystems have not had the mammoth in them for 5,000 years. This really is a miniscule ammount of time, evloutionary speaking. Hell, it is on the verge of being within written human memory. The fact that these ecosystems continue on fine, is in my mind, more of a testimony to the incredible versitility and adaptability of life on earth than any indication that the mammoth has no place in it. Its my decidedly unscientific point of view that the ecosystems could just as easily addapt to the reintroduction of the mammoth in realtively short order.
OK, first we bring back the mammoths. Then we breed miniature mammoths. Less trouble to care for. Less impact if one gets out into the wild.
You know everyone will want one.
No cite, but the last mammoth population (on Wrangell Island) died out without any human intervention. The local conditions became too harsh for them to survive (they could not obtain enough forage in the winter time.)
I would! How cute would that be?!
Or put friggin lasers on their heads.
umm, may I ask…why the woolly mammoth?
Were there non-woolly mammoths, too?
How about cotton mammoths? Seersucker mammoths?
Or maybe 30% polyester mammoths?
'Cause that would be way cool, especially if they were plaid…
Come to think of it, we could do that now, with elephants. Wolves were bred into chihuahas and St. Bernards, weren’t they?
Of course, it would take a long time. Dogs reach sexual maturity in a year. Elephants take 9-12 years.
Exactly! Playing God is what science is all about, dammit. I predict a 100% success rate with absolutely no comeuppance.
If only we could bring back the rarest of all mammoths, the cashmere mammoth…
I can see them now, loitering outside pool halls, borrowing small sums of money from many individuals and not returning it, sneaking into movies at intermission…
With looking glass ties, no doubt. 
I think the important question nobody’s asked here is, are they tasty? I mean, does anyone really care about any other issue?
Excuse my relative ignorance on the matter, but who is going to teach this newly minted mammoths the rules of mammoth etiquette?. I understand that there is an elephant problem in Africa as poachers kill adult elephants and the juveniles are not being raised to behave in the herd. Won’t something like this happen with mammoths?
Better than bald eagle, but not as good as manatee.
That is [harrumph], so I’ve heard.
My vote is to fill in their missing genetic sequences with T-rex DNA. Come on. Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious what it’d turn out like. 
Except that mammoths were not just tundra animals. They were highly adaptable and widely distributed. In America, their remains have been found as far south as Guatemala. They have also been found in Florida.
Yes, there were non-woolly mammoths.
I dunno . . . I’m picturing something with a useless, vestigial trunk . . .