"From what size predator, would a wooly mammoth have needed to evolve an ability to hide?
"
Uh, humans and dire wolves and saber-toothed tigers, perhaps. Humans were the most dangerous predator of the wooly mammoth, though.
They had cave lions 3 times the size of African lions back then. Some pretty big bears, too.
You know, I have alot of trouble with the human predation of mammals stuff, and here's why.
We all know that the American indians hunted the buffalo. And we hear the stories about the indians being very economical and using every piece of the buffalo they could get. These legends have been elevated to an almost holy status.
But estimates tell us that during what they think was the peak, over SIXTY MILLION BUFFALO roamed the plains. And the indians, no matter what they could do, would hardly be able to make the slightest dent in the buffalo herds, no matter what they tried.
The buffalo were not threatened until two things arrived in North America.
Horses and firearms.
So no doubt early man hunted mammoth. But I'm inclinedto think that coming home with a mammoth on the hood of their car was a pretty darn rare event.