It does give one pause. There are two species of elephants alive today, and even the mammoths are relatively recently extinct. I'd count them as contemporary with mankind.
And look how many horses there are--common horse, donkeys, zebras...those species can even cross-breed for infertile offspring. Camels in SAmerica, and in Africa.
How come man is so lonely?
Three. Turns out the African Elephant actually comprises two distinct species (or something like that).
We killed off our closest relatives.
Because we kill off those we perceive those we perceive as different?