It was a regular day in the life of Michigan, US, soy farmer James Bort, who was out ploughing his field. He went to get his land, but he was surprised when he hit something hard that was just below his plot.
At first, he thought it was just a stick, but what it was actually turned out to be so big that he needed help to get it out of the ground! The outcome? Looks like he dug up the mammoth’s ribs, skull, vertebrae, and horns! What a discovery!
Realizing the importance of the discovery, James contacted researchers at the University of Michigan and a team of workers with an excavator.
After digging deep, people found the re’mains of a woolly mammoth, a species that lived more than 10,000 years ago. While plowing, James managed to hit part of the specimen’s coast without causing any “damage.”
According to Dr. Daniel Fisher, the paleontologist who lead the excavation, the mammoth most likely roamed the area 11,700 to 15,000 years ago. He would have been about 40 years old when he d/ed.
According to the paleontologists, parts of the giant beast had likely been stored there 10,000 years ago by the prehistoric people that captured it, in order to come back and eat it later. But they mysteriously never returned. However, the mammoth’s legs were not found, leading the research team to assume that those were either buried somewhere nearby or had in fact been consumed.
Before grabbing a shovel and heading out to your own backyard, remember these amazing occurrences don’t exactly happen everyday. But you never know! 🙂
