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From: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: Pam-Pincha's reply to the "elephant" article
Message-ID: <821@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Oct-85 10:27:58 EST
Article-I.D.: psivax.821
Posted: Wed Oct 30 10:27:58 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 3-Nov-85 04:51:40 EST
References: <437@imsvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 33
Summary: 

In article <437@imsvax.UUCP> ted@imsvax.UUCP (Ted Holden) writes:
>
> Now,
>comparisons between mammoths and yaks or other deer-like animals are basically
>meaningless because the later eat grass and have been provided by God or nature
>with sharp hooves to poke through ice and snow for grass during the winter.
>Elephants don't have sharp hooves, and they prefer LEAVES to GRASS.

	And Elephants have *tusks*, which may well be even better for
digging through snow than hooves. And not all deer-like animals prefer
grass, many, including the White-tail and Mule Deers, prefer leaves.
Also, just because living *Elephants* prefer leaves is no reason to
assume that *Mammoths* did also, since they have different teeth.(Tho
I suspect thay actually lived off of tundra subshrubs).

>Furthermore
>even deer-like creatures would not survive in Novo Sibirsk.  Novo Sibirsk, in
>winter (which is 8 or 10 months out of the year there), is COVERED BY THE POLAR
>ICE CAP.  In the unlikely event that even a yak were to be able to poke far
>enough through the ice in Novo-Sibirsk, all he would find would be lichens
>and moss, IF HE WERE LUCKY, and I have no problem maintaining that even a yak
>couldn't live on that.
>
	Really? Well this sounds like a case for seasonal migrations,
since your own statement implies that it is *not* covered by the ice
cap for 2 to 4 months of the year! And you would be surprised what can
survive on moss and lichens.
-- 

				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)

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