Mammoth find may be biggest ever

09:19 AM PDT on Wednesday, August 10, 2005

By GLENN FARLEY, KING 5 News

SELAH, Wash. -- It was found accidentally by construction crews but now it could end up being one of the most important skeletons ever uncovered in Washington.

The remains of a mammoth have been located north of Yakima by the town of Selah. While mammoth parts have been found before, it's been nothing like this. It is more than a yard long. On a human, it would be the equivalent of the right upper arm bone. Only this bone belongs to a mammoth.

“We actually have another bone here, mammoth size, and another bone here. And they’re all about the same level,” said field assistant Jake Shapley.

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The mammoth found is most likely a giant Columbian, one of the biggest species.

Scientists are finding lots of bones in the area. They are all taken back to a lab at Central Washington University for study, ranging from mere fragments stored in dozens of plastic bags, to another one of those big legs. It could take two more summers to get all the bones out.

"The significance of this find is increased everyday we dig here,” said Bax Barton, mammoth expert at the University of Washington.

Mammoths are to Washington state, what dinosaurs are to Wyoming. The mammoth found is most likely a giant Columbian, one of the biggest mammoth species, some 13 feet high at the shoulder.

Most Washington mammoth finds, especially in Western Washington, are mere pieces such as a tusk or a tooth. This new find has already gone far beyond that. A complete skeleton could be hidden under this dust and dirt.

Twelve thousand or more years ago, with herds of mammoths wandered around grassy hills in this area. This excavation is not just about recovering bones; it's about recovering the context of what the mammoth lived in.

“We'd see mammoths on the landscape, some horse, some bison, camel. in the rivers, and in more wooded areas we might find sloth,” said Barton.

Scientists are digging slowly and carefully. They are also looking for ancient seeds and plants, food the mammoth ate, as well as bones from other animals.