Man In Idaho Finds Rare Mammoth Tusk In His Backyard
In order to confirm that the discovery was indeed a mammoth tusk, Keller called upon the [...]
One man in Idaho made a shocking discovery last month in his backyard. He found a Colombian mammoth tusk that is believed to be at least 12,000 years old, according to Yahoo.
Kasey Keller, 34, of Franklin, Idaho reported to ABC News that he was using a backhoe to dig in a gravel pit next to the automotive shop he owns when he noticed the tusk.
"At first I thought it was a pipe," Keller recalls. "Then, my instinct was, 'This is a mammoth bone.' I enjoyed prehistoric history as a kid and still do today. It was a unique thing."
In order to confirm that the discovery was indeed a mammoth tusk, Keller called upon the paleontologists at Utah State University to investigate the 3-foot long bone. The tusk was then confirmed to belong to a Colombian Mammoth, the extinct species that could grow to be 13 feet tall and weigh up to 22,000 pounds.
The tusk was estimated to be around 12,000 to 15,000 years old by the paleontologists at Utah State Univeristy and Brigham Young University.
"They never found anything like this in this valley," Keller stated. "The paleontologist from USU told me the odds were like finding a needle in a haystack."
Keller received help from his twin boys, Peyton and Krew, when digging up the pieces of the mammoth tusk. Keller said of his sons, "They love dinosaurs, so I showed them and they were on cloud nine." He continued, "They couldn't believe it was a fossil."
Brigham Young University has taken the tusk into possession in order to properly preserve the fossil. Keller plans to loan the tusk out to a museum for display.
"If someone else found it, I'd be interested in seeing it," Keller explained. "It's a piece of history."
Does this recent discovery of a mammoth tusk in Idaho make you want to go grab a shovel and start digging in your back yard?