Researchers have found a unique mammoth tusk at the O2 Ranch in Brewster, West Texas. (Photo credit: Devin Pettigrew/CBBS)
A hunter looking for deer on a ranch in West Texas unexpectedly came across a rare mammoth tusk.
A press release from Texas State University-Sul Ross said the tusk was found in a creek drainage area on the O2 Ranch, located in Brewster and Presidio counties near Big Bend National Park.
Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi), the southern ancestors of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), roamed the grasslands that are now north and central Texas until about 11,700 years ago, according to the Texas Master Naturalists website at Texas A&M University. However, mammoth fossils are extremely rare in West Texas.
“Seeing this mammoth tusk truly transports us to an ancient world,” said Will Jewett, manager of the O2 Ranch, in a statement. “Now I can’t help but imagine this enormous creature roaming the hills of the O2 Ranch. My next thought is always of the people who encountered these giant tusks with only stone tools!”
Columbian mammoths lived alongside humans before they died out at the end of the last ice age. Researchers have proposed several hypotheses about the causes of their demise, including climate change, human hunting, and disease, according to Texas Master Naturalists.
The hunter who found the tusk, who was not named in the statement, took photographs of the creek bed find and showed them to Jewett. The ranch manager then contacted Bryon Schroeder, director of the Big Bend Research Center at Sul Ross State University, and another archaeologist. They contacted other experts and studied the discovery.
Schroeder confirmed that it was indeed a mammoth tusk, and the researchers spent two days excavating it on the ranch. They wrapped the tusk in strips of plaster burlap to protect it and then built a frame for transport to Sul Ross State University. The researchers did not find any other mammoth parts during the excavation.
“We quickly realized that there was nothing left of the skeleton, just one tusk separated from the rest of the remains,” Schroeder said in a statement.
According to the press release, the researchers are now awaiting the results of radiocarbon dating, which will determine the age of the mammoth tusk.
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Patrick Pester is a well-known Live Science news writer. His articles have appeared on other science platforms such as BBC Science Focus and Scientific American. Patrick became a journalist after working in zoos and wildlife conservation early in his career. He received a Master's Excellence Scholarship to study at Cardiff University, where he completed an MA in International Journalism. He also holds a second MA in Biodiversity, Evolution and Conservation.
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