What are the differences between the different words for mammoth? 猛犸和毛象有什么区别？

Question

I often pick up relatively esoteric animal names, and I got looking at mammoths one day... I found two words for mammoth: 猛犸 and 毛象. What is the difference between these two words?

Answer 1

They are the same, just translated in different ways.

1. 猛犸 is a transliteration. 猛 means robust dog. 《说文解字》: 猛，健犬也。 犸 seems a more modern character, only used here.
2. 长毛象 is more common than 毛象. The literal translation is "elephant with long hair".