Did giant elephants called mammoths and mastodons once lived in Michigan?

Yes, giant elephants called mammoths and mastodons once lived in Michigan. Mastodons were huge, tusked mammals that roamed North America during the Pleistocene epoch. They closely resembled modern-day elephants but had distinctive teeth structures. Mastodon fossils have been discovered in various locations throughout Michigan, indicating their presence in the state during prehistoric times.

Similarly, mammoths were massive, hairy elephants that inhabited North America and other parts of the world during the Pleistocene. Several mammoth fossils have been found in Michigan, including the discovery of a woolly mammoth skeleton in 1921 in Lenawee County. This skeleton, known as the "Lenawee Mammoth," is now housed at the University of Michigan's Museum of Paleontology.

The presence of mammoths and mastodons in Michigan provides evidence of the state's rich paleontological history and the diverse megafauna that once roamed the region during the ice age.