Science

Michigan farmer uncovers mammoth bones in soy field

A Michigan farmer found bones from a woolly mammoth in his soy field this week, the Washington Post reported Friday.

A digitally-generated image of a woolly mammoth.
Science Picture Co. | Getty Images

According to the report, Bristle mistook the remains for a dilapidated fence. "We knew it was something that was out of the norm," the article quote him as saying. "My grandson came over to look at it, he's 5-years-old, he was speechless,"

University of Michigan professor Daniel Fisher said that the animal died more than 10,000 years ago. Fisher said that discoveries of mastodons are more common than finding woolly mammoths, which are more closely related to elephants. It is also one of the more intact specimens compared with those found in the surrounding area.

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The find may provide evidence of the animal's interaction with humans. While Bristle owns the bones, Fisher hopes to gain further access to them in the hopes of unlocking the mysteries of the extinct creature.

Get the full story from the Washington Post here.