The tusk belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a cousin of the woolly mammoth that went extinct in the region 11,700 years ago.
Devin Pettigrew/Center for Big Bend StudiesResearchers excavate the mammoth tusk discovered at O2 Ranch in Texas’ Big Bend region.
A mammoth tusk was the last thing a deer hunter expected to find while walking the grounds of O2 Ranch in western Texas. However, after spotting the object poking out from a creek bed, he informed the ranch’s manager, who got in touch with local archaeologists.
Two days of excavation work confirmed that the tusk belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a prehistoric creature that roamed the grasslands of Texas more than 11,000 years ago. Now, researchers are awaiting radiocarbon dating results to determine how old this “very rare” discovery truly is.
A Deer Hunter Discovers A Mammoth Tusk On A Texas Ranch
Last December, a deer hunter at O2 Ranch in West Texas made an unexpected discovery. While walking along a drainage area near a creek bed, the man noticed a strange object sticking out of the ground. He thought it might be a fossil of some kind, so he snapped a photo on his phone to show to the ranch’s manager, Will Juett.
“I was skeptical when a deer hunter showed me a picture of what he thought was a fossil,” Juett explained in a press release from Sul Ross State University in Texas. “I figured it was likely just an old stump, but imagined how great it would be if he was right.”
Justin Garnett/Center for Big Bend StudiesResearchers wrap the tusk with strips of plaster-covered burlap that will harden into a cast to protect it during transport.
Despite his doubts, Juett contacted Dr. Bryon Schroeder, the director of the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University. Dr. Schroeder, alongside archaeologist Erika Blecha, University of Kansas graduate student Haley Bjorklund, and anthropology professors Dr. Justin Garnett and Dr. Devin Pettigrew, traveled to the ranch in early January to examine the artifact. To Juett’s surprise, they quickly identified it as a mammoth tusk.
“It paid off big time,” said Juett. “When they confirmed what they had uncovered, I couldn’t believe it.”
The archaeological team also surveyed the rest of the area in the hopes of discovering more mammoth remains but ultimately came up empty-handed.
“We realized pretty quickly there was not more to the skeleton, just an isolated tusk that had been separated from the rest of the remains,” Dr. Schroeder explained.
After a two-day excavation, the research team successfully uncovered, extracted, and prepared the mammoth tusk for transport to Sul Ross State University for further study.
What Was The Columbian Mammoth?
Researchers determined that the tusk found at O2 Ranch belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a species that lived in North and Central America between 1.5 million and 11,700 years ago. Distantly related to woolly mammoths, Columbian mammoths populated the warmer areas of the American continent during the Ice Age.
Bones from the massive creatures show that they stood up to 13 feet tall and reached weights of 22,000 pounds. For reference, African elephants, the largest land mammals that currently walk the Earth, weigh between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds on average. Like other mammoth species, Columbian mammoths had long, curved tusks they used for foraging and fighting. However, they were herbivores that mostly consumed grasses and sedges.
Public DomainAn illustration of a Columbian mammoth, a species that roamed the Americas thousands of years ago.
Remains found in north and central Texas point to the presence of Columbian mammoths in the area’s prehistoric grasslands, though their fossils are rarely found in the Big Bend region of western Texas. The creatures coexisted with prehistoric humans until their extinction around 11,700 years ago. Researchers are now waiting for radiocarbon dating results that will reveal precisely when the owner of this tusk roamed the area.
“Seeing that mammoth tusk just brings the ancient world to life,” said Juett. “Now, I can’t help but imagine that huge animal wandering around the hills on the O2 Ranch. My next thought is always about the people that faced those huge tusks with only a stone tool in their hand!”
After reading about the rare mammoth tusk found in West Texas, learn about 11 of Earth’s most unbelievable prehistoric animals. Then, read about the megalodon, the largest shark to ever live.
