Man finds giant mammoth tusk in Mississippi creek

A fossil collector recently came across a significant find while exploring rural Mississippi: the state’s first confirmed mammoth tusk. But its discovery was just the first of many hurdles in recovering the rare specimen.

Although woolly mammoths and mastodons often attract the most cultural attention, the two species were far from the only ancestors of elephants to roam North America. Moreover, they weren’t even the largest; that honor went to the Colombian mammoth. With a height of almost 4.5 meters at the shoulders and a weight of approximately 10 tons, Mammuthus columbi remained ice age giants until their eventual extinction around 12,700 BC. However, modern Mississippi hosted fewer of them than their relatives due to their preference for pasture grass. Still, mammoths found their way to the Deep South, as evidenced by a number of fossilized teeth collected there over the years. And until recently, teeth were all researchers in Mississippi had, until a man named Eddie Templeton decided to take a hike.

As first highlighted on August 13 The Clarion Ledgerthe collector of artifacts and fossils recently decided to look for new finds in a rural region of Madison, outside of Jackson. While crossing a muddy creek, Templeton noticed a sizable relic protruding from a clay and sand embankment.

“It was exciting. I knew it was a tusk,” Templeton told the local newspaper.

But given the rarity of mammoths in Mississippi, he initially believed the fossilized ivory belonged to a smaller mastodon. However, after enlisting the help of the Mississippi State Geological Survey (MSGS), it became clear that Templeton had encountered something much more elusive.

“Based on the strong curvature of the enormous tusk, it was suspected that Eddie and the team were dealing with a Columbian mammoth and not that of the more common mastodon,” the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) said. researchers explained in an announcement.

A race against time and the elements

The team had to act quickly. According to MDEQ, prolonged exposure to Mississippi’s stifling midday sun could easily dehydrate and destroy the specimen. For the rest of the day, Templeton and researchers began carefully excavating the tusk by hand, eventually revealing a fully intact, 7-foot-long fossil. After photographing it at its ancient resting place, workers prepared the tusk for transport by first covering it in aluminum foil. When they were done, they encased it in plaster-soaked burlap to essentially form a protective plaster cast. Further investigation into the positioning of the tusk and its surroundings indicated to the field scientists that it was likely originally leaning against the sandbar of an ancient stream with part submerged in the water. At some point, alluvium buried the entire tusk, possibly from large storm surges. This makes it likely that the mammoth died nearby before the water carried its remains downstream.

[Related: Woolly mammoth ‘jerky’ preserves 52,000-year-old fossil chromosomes.]

Once protected from the sun, the team faced yet another challenge: transporting the approximately 500 pounds of ivory over a nearly vertical 50-foot rock wall, where it could be loaded onto a truck. According to MDEQ, the solution could be found in an ATV ramp that they turned into a “makeshift stretcher.” After emerging from the creek, the tusk was finally able to make its way to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, where it now remains for further research and management.

In an email to Popular scienceMDEQ geologist James Starnes described the event as an “important Ice Age paleontological find for Mississippi.”

The tusk’s new, protected home is also a fitting end for an ancient giant that, while not necessarily as famous as its kin, was crucial to the region’s ecological health.

“These colossal mammals played an important role in maintaining the rich, fertile prairie ecosystem, just as their modern elephant relatives do in other parts of the world today.” said MDEQ representatives.