Remains of M. exilis have been discovered on three of the northern Channel Islands of California since 1856: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel, which together with Anacapa were the highest portions of the now mostly submerged superisland of Santa Rosae.
The late Pleistocene elephant appears to have survived on the islands until the arrival of the humans associated with Arlington Springs Man around 13,000 years ago and the last known mammoth occurrence was 13–12.9 thousand years ago which predates the later Chumash people's arrival during the early Holocene, between 10,800 and 11,300 years ago.
Radiocarbon dating indicates M. exilis existed on the island for at least 47,000 years prior (which is the approximate limit of the dating method).

Modern elephants are excellent swimmers, and the ancestors of M. exilis most likely swam the 4 mi (6.4 km) to Santa Rosae.
As the population of mammoths increased, the lack of large predators such as the dire wolf, Smilodon and the American lion and the loss of habitat caused by the rise of sea levels at the end of the ice age as Santa Rosae split into four islands favored smaller animals.
Because of this, the pygmy mammoths began evolving through generations as a survival mechanism to stay alive on the ever-shrinking Santa Rosa Island; their body size became smaller because it required less food and resources to remain energized and alive.
After this evolutionary period, the mammoth had become a distinct species, the pygmy mammoth.

M. exilis should not be confused with the mammoths of Wrangel Island or Saint Paul Island, which were small races of the woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) and which died out around 1700 B.C. and 4000 B.C., respectively.

The pygmy mammoth was able to thrive in all of the many different ecosystems found on Santa Rosae, such as high elevation plateaus, to dune, grassland, riparian and steppe-tundra ecosystems.
Their fossils are found in the Channel Islands and in the California Channel.
The evidence of their habituation in all of those diverse dwellings is revealed by the pollen and plant pieces found in sediments and in dung.
In addition, each habitat has a specific isotope mark from the unique types of soil, plants and water.
These mammoths sometimes modified their habitats, specifically in Channel Islands, where they created more spacious grassland in result of their roaming.
Remains of M. exilis have been discovered on three of the northern Channel Islands of California since 1856: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel, which together with Anacapa were the highest portions of the now mostly submerged superisland of Santa Rosae. The late Pleistocene elephant appears to have survived on the islands until the arrival of the humans associated with Arlington Springs Man around 13,000 years ago and the last known mammoth occurrence was 13–12.9 thousand years ago which predates the later Chumash people's arrival during the early Holocene, between 10,800 and 11,300 years ago. Radiocarbon dating indicates M. exilis existed on the island for at least 47,000 years prior (which is the approximate limit of the dating method).
Modern elephants are excellent swimmers, and the ancestors of M. exilis most likely swam the 4 mi (6.4 km) to Santa Rosae. As the population of mammoths increased, the lack of large predators such as the dire wolf, Smilodon and the American lion and the loss of habitat caused by the rise of sea levels at the end of the ice age as Santa Rosae split into four islands favored smaller animals. Because of this, the pygmy mammoths began evolving through generations as a survival mechanism to stay alive on the ever-shrinking Santa Rosa Island; their body size became smaller because it required less food and resources to remain energized and alive. After this evolutionary period, the mammoth had become a distinct species, the pygmy mammoth.
M. exilis should not be confused with the mammoths of Wrangel Island or Saint Paul Island, which were small races of the woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) and which died out around 1700 B.C. and 4000 B.C., respectively.
The pygmy mammoth was able to thrive in all of the many different ecosystems found on Santa Rosae, such as high elevation plateaus, to dune, grassland, riparian and steppe-tundra ecosystems. Their fossils are found in the Channel Islands and in the California Channel. The evidence of their habituation in all of those diverse dwellings is revealed by the pollen and plant pieces found in sediments and in dung. In addition, each habitat has a specific isotope mark from the unique types of soil, plants and water. These mammoths sometimes modified their habitats, specifically in Channel Islands, where they created more spacious grassland in result of their roaming.
Pygmy mammoth