Rare Discovery: 270 kg Columbian Mammoth Tusk Uncovered in Madison, Mississippi

This is the first discovery of this kind in the region – reports the Live Science portal, which writes about the discovery of a large mammoth tusk, weighing 270 kg and measuring 2 m in length. ‘long, in the American city of Madison, Mississippi.

Eddie Templeton walked through the Mississippi desert, we read. While he was walking, he accidentally came across an element that was partially submerged in water that looked like a tusk from a distance. When he was close to it, he noticed that he seemed to have found the remains of something that could be a mammoth or a mastodon.

Templeton’s discovery became even more interesting when scientists arrived at the site. Their findings (as reported in a press release from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality – MDEQ) show that a prospector accidentally found a Columbian mammoth tusk (A mammoth dove).

– When I found out that it was a mammoth and not a mastodon, I got excited. I have never found any part of a raspberry. I always hoped to find some of it, but it is very rare here – said Templeton in an interview with the local newspaper “The Clarion-Ledger”.

The rest of the article is below the video

James Starnes, a geologist with the MDEQ, confirmed that mammoth tusks generally occur in the Mississippi region. “they are not in good condition”. Templeton’s discovery, however, differs from similar discoveries made in this area. The tusks he accidentally found were preserved almost intact. This, in turn, means that scientists can take a closer look at the structure of the find, but also get a better understanding of the history of the Columbian mammoths that live in the US state of Mississippi.

The Live Science website reports that the discovery of a well-preserved mammoth element ​​​​​​​​in Mississippi is not so obvious. Although American mastodons once inhabited this area (American mammoth). They needed open and grassy areas, we read, so we only lived in two sections of Mississippi.

The animals mentioned They lived in the Pleistocene era, ie in the period from 2.6 million to 11.7 thousand years ago. years ago. They arrived in North America about 1.5 million years ago. An individual adult reached 4.5 m in height and could weigh up to 10 tons. The Colombian mammoth is thought to have become extinct around 12,000 years ago. years ago, which was caused by the melting of glaciers and the decline of their habitats, as well as intensive hunting by humans. The last known mammoths lived 3.7 thousand years ago. years ago on Wrangel Island (off the coast of Alaska).