Rare mammoth fossil found by coal miners in North Dakota

BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) -- Coal miners in North Dakota made an incredibly rare find earlier this year: a well-preserved, seven-foot-long tusk of an ancient mammoth.

The North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS) said in a press release on Monday, Dec. 18, that the miners discovered the fossil at the Freedom Mine near Beulah over the Memorial Day weekend.

A team led by paleontologists from the NDGS recovered more than twenty bones from the mammoth skeleton, including ribs, a shoulder blade, a tooth, and parts of the hips. The team spent 12 days excavating the old streambed where the skeleton was buried.

“Most of the mammoth fossils known from North Dakota are isolated bones and teeth,” said Clint Boyd, a senior paleontologist for the NDGS. “This specimen is one of the most complete mammoth skeletons discovered in North Dakota, making it an exciting and scientifically important discovery."

After being stabilized in protective plaster jackets, the bones were transported to the Paleontology Lab at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck. There, they will undergo the slow and meticulous process of cleaning the attached sediment and stabilizing the delicate bones.

While that work continues, staff from the NDGS and the Freedom Mine are working together to develop a plan to integrate these fossils into an educational outreach program.

The goal is to ensure as many people as possible can see this specimen and learn what it tells us about life in North Dakota during the Ice Age. 

Mammoths lived in North Dakota during the Pleistocene Epoch, commonly called the Ice Age, and went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Several species of mammoth lived in North America, including the Woolly Mammoth and the Columbian Mammoth. They lived alongside other iconic animals like saber-toothed tigers and giant sloths.

Once the bones are fully cleaned, paleontologists will be able to identify which species was collected from the mine.