Story at a glance
- A team of miners reportedly unearthed the bones at the Little Flake Mining camp in Yukon, Canada, late last month.
- Crews were able to retrieve a complete leg bone, pelvis and jaw bones with teeth intact.
- Researchers believe the bones could be from four or five woolly mammoths.
Gold miners in Yukon, Canada, have discovered partial skeletons from several woolly mammoths that may have been part of the same family, according to local newspaper The Whitehorse Star.
A team of miners reportedly unearthed the bones at the Little Flake Mining camp late last month. The mine is where the reality television show “Gold Rush” is filmed.
Crews were able to retrieve a complete leg bone, pelvis and jaw bones with teeth intact.
Grant Zazula, head paleontologist for the Yukon government, said it appears to be bones from four or five woolly mammoths — two adults and two to three offspring. Zazula told the news outlet miners often find individual bones, but it’s rare they find partial skeletons intact and even more rare to find them in the same exact place.
“You never find a complete skeleton, so finding two partial skeletons, they probably died together,” Zazula told The Whitehorse Star.
“That is super-exciting. It can lead to all kinds of questions,” he said.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Zazula estimates the bones were from woolly mammoths that likely died about 30,000 years ago based on the age of volcanic ash they were discovered in.
The specimens will be analyzed to confirm age and whether they were related to one another.
Woolly mammoths died off about 11,000 years ago and were found across North America and Eurasia in tundra and grassland habitats.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
SHARK SIGHTINGS AND ATTACKS UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST
MICHAEL JORDAN CATCHES DOLPHINFISH IN $3.4M FISHING TOURNAMENT
MAN-SIZED HALIBUT REELED IN IN THE NORTH SEA
WOMAN PUNCHES CROCODILE TO SAVE HER TWIN SISTER
NEW STUDY NAMES THE 10 SMELLIEST STATES IN THE US
CICADAS OVERRUN WHITE HOUSE PRESS PLANE
changing america copyright.
