Marina Mall Abu Dhabi’s ‘mammoth’ surprise

Giant footsteps were imprinted in Abu Dhabi as Marina Mall unveiled the UAE’s latest historical attraction, a 15,000 year-old Woolly Mammoth. In the presence of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Advisor to the President of the UAE and Chairman of the National Investment Corporation, the event was attended by a number of VIP guests, Marina Mall Management, and natural history fans.

Commenting on the big reveal, Nikolaos Kontos, Head of Marketing at Marina Mall – Abu Dhabi, said: “As one of Abu Dhabi’s iconic destinations, we love to create an exclusive customer experience through a mix of great shopping and fun attractions for all the family. The arrival of this legendary creature to Marina Mall – Abu Dhabi is a very exciting milestone for us but also for the UAE as a whole.”

“This newest member of the Marina Mall family not only creates an exciting atmosphere that attracts more visitors, but also provides an educational experience for all ages with the opportunity to witness the magnitude of the genuine life-sized mammoth fossil up-close.”

Visitors are now invited to rediscover the past through a close-up encounter with this natural piece of history that has never been seen before in the UAE. Standing tall at four metres and weighing one tonne, the genuine fossil was discovered in the late 1990’s on the banks of the Irtysh River in Siberia, and is considered one of the largest and most complete fossils to have ever been discovered. 

The behaviour of these legendary creatures, which mainly resided in Asia, Europe and North Africa, resembled that of modern elephants. Despite their large size – a fully grown Mammoth can weigh between up to eight tonnes, equivalent to the weight of a double-decker bus – they are known to be gentle creatures that mostly enjoyed grazing on fresh grass. 

Their coats varied in colour between light and dark and were covered in fur, with an outer covering of long hairs and a shorter undercoat. They had short ears and tails to minimize frostbite. Little is known about the species’ extinction, but it is thought to have likely been due to climate change, human hunting or a combination of the two.

The event was hosted by one of the most prominent female presenters in the region, award-winning Nada Shaibani. The Bahraini presenter has been recognised with the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Best Sports Journalist and is the first woman in the GCC to hold a diploma in Sports Administration from FIFA. She recently successfully led the first committee for women sports’ journalists in the Gulf under the Gulf Union of Sports Journalists, and is a member of the Supervisory Committee and Head of the Women Sports Journalists forum in the Arab Women’s Club’s Tournament in 2016.