The farmer donated the remains of the woolly mammoth to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Paleontology. Now, the researchers are going to clean the bones and to study them, in order to find out more information.
Mammoth bones were discovered in a farmer’s field in Michigan last week. James Bristle, the lucky farmer, said he discovered the bones together with a friend, while digging the land.
After they discovered the bones, they thought they were a fence covered with mud. Soon after that they realized their discovery was special, so they called for experts from the University of Michigan.
Dan Fisher, professor of paleontology, stated that the discovery represents a woolly mammoth. Together with other researchers, he brought up out of the earth a skull and a tusk.
Other parts of the woolly mammoth skeleton were found in 10 sites in Michigan, Fisher stated. He also added that most probably the mammoth was 40-year-old when humans killed it. Also, the bones are believed to be 15,000 years old.
After finding out about the discovery, people from other regions came to see the mammoth from the Lima Township farm.
Bristle said that more than 200 people came to see the bones and that kids were the most excited.
“I felt that it was to share because it could change the history books we’re finding out now,” stated Bristle.
The farmer donated the remains of the woolly mammoth to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Paleontology. Now, the researchers are going to clean the bones and to study them, in order to find out more information.
Nevertheless, this discovery made people ask questions regarding not only the newly found animal’s fate, but also about the extinction of woolly mammoths. They still question if human beings are responsible for their extinction.
Dan Fisher believes people killed the recently found animal in order to feed themselves. As for the parts they couldn’t eat immediately, they would keep them in an icy lake. Other scientists, however, claimed they cannot establish the animal’s death for sure until they analyze its bones.
People were also made responsible for 37 mammal species that died at the end of the Ice Age. Apart from the human factor, the climate change represents another reason for their extinction.
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