I was particularly excited for our drive down, however, as the Waco Mammoth National Monument was on our way! This smallish museum is built over the site of a Pleistocene (Ice Age) excavation site, where a number of prehistoric mammals were found, especially of course mammoths.
It's five bucks per person for the guided tour. I think you're allowed to walk around by yourself for free, though I don't really remember for sure. (Check with the ticket office just in case.)
The original dig site was actually located just outside of the front entrance of the main building (Jacy and Xander are facing roughly in its direction). Seventeen Columbian Mammoths were found, two of which were juveniles, and all the adults were female. This was the first mammoth "nursery herd" ever discovered, confirming the long-held suspicion that mammoths behaved just like modern day elephants, whose females formed herds with their young, and males wandered off on their own upon reaching adulthood. You may have noticed I said "Columbian" Mammoth rather than "Woolly". Woolly Mammoths can be found in the northern latitudes worldwide, while Columbian Mammoths are exclusive to North American. They were larger than the Woollies, and lived further south, and so presumably had less hair, though since none of them had the decency to freeze in a glacier, we don't know for sure.
After the initial herd was fully excavated, multiple individual mammoths were discovered nearby, as well as other prehistoric creatures. A building was erected over the site, and excavation ground to a halt as they ran out of room at Baylor University to store the bones. Currently, researchers are working on getting the excavated bones prepared for display. In the meantime visitors to the site get to see the remaining fossils in situ, as well a work-in-progress excavation site protected from the elements.
The largest animal left in the pit is an old approximately 45-year-old male designated Mammoth Q, and curiously, was found with a baby mammoth resting on its tusks (most of the baby's body has already been removed by the scientists). Both presumably drowned when the nearby river flooded. Female elephants often will use their tusks to try to lift their babies out of harm's way when they are in distress, but for a male to do this would be unprecedented. It's also possible that their bodies simply bumped into each other as they were washed away. The jury's still out on that one.
Accompanying the mammoths is a very nice specimen of the extinct American camel called Camelops. The camel is at the bottom of the picture, Mammoth Q & the baby are in the upper left. Another juvenile mammoth occupies the upper center of the picture. "Accompanying" may indeed be the right word, as Camelops fossils are often found alongside Columbian Mammoths, leading some to theorize they engaged in a symbiotic relationship. According to this theory, the camels would act as lookouts, while the mammoths would provide the muscle. Fun fact: camels actually originated in North America. While those that remained here eventually died out, some migrated to Asia & the Middle East where they still survive, while others migrated to South America and are now known as llamas.
There was a nice exposed mammoth skull lying near the back that allows visitors to get a good look at the overall shape. Note that the skull is upside-down; you can see the molars just behind the tusks.
This lovely (though somewhat sad) mural overlooks the excavation site. The scene depicts the original nursery herd at the moment it was caught and overwhelmed by the river as it jumped its banks in a flash flood. A Camelops makes a cameo in the waves behind the mother mammoth on the left.
Here's the whole family in front of a life-sized representation of a full-grown Columbian Mammoth. It really gives you an impression of just how massive and awe-inspiring these creatures were! This painting takes into consideration the warmer climate of their southern home, and so it has much sparser hair compared to a Woolly Mammoth, rather closer to a modern elephant.
At the end of the tour, we had Xander stand next to a mammoth femur for a little comparison photo, and in a moment too cute not to post, he went and hugged it instead! He seemed to like it. I certainly enjoyed the museum, and I look forward to seeing again next time we drive down to Austin!
