Museum Seeks Help for Mammoth Excavation         

[June 16, 2007]  CASPER, Wyo. (AP) -- A Wyoming museum is seeking volunteers to help excavate the remains of a mammoth that may be one of the largest and most complete ever discovered in the state.

Scientists with the Tate Geological Museum at Casper College last year uncovered approximately 120 bones from a mammoth estimated to be up to 2 million years at a site outside of Douglas.

Museum Director Dave Brown said several important bones have yet to be found, including the skull, tusk, lower jaw and several leg bones. The mammoth site us under 24-hour guard and is on private land.

"We found a good part of (the skeleton) last year," Brown said. "The primary thing we are looking for now is the skull and the tusk."

Workers last year found a portion of one tusk measuring 4 feet long and 9 inches in diameter, Brown said.

"At this point there have been no human remains found," Brown said. "So this one probably wandered down into a gully and died."

The mammoth is called "Dee," in honor of bulldozer operator Dee Zimmerschied, who discovered the first bones while bulldozing an oil well drilling site in 2006.

Brown said the mammoth was about 14 feet high at the shoulder and about 40 years old when it died. He said it may be one of the most complete and largest mammoth skeletons ever discovered in Wyoming.

Brown said the plan is to display the skeleton at the museum when it's restored.

The museum is seeking volunteers to drive out to the site and help to dig for the missing bones.

Work at the site started June 11 will continue until July 6. After that, the two site supervisors, Casper College geology instructor J.P. Caveigelli and Tate prep lab manager Kent Sundell will move on to other projects.

"We need to work as quickly as we can and use the time we have to find what is there," Brown said. He said that excavation work may continue next year if necessary.

Brown said the college can accommodate up to about 10 volunteers per day on the excavation. He said anyone interested in working on the project needs first to go to the museum and register and fill out a medical release form and pick up a map to the site.

The museum also is holding three public tours of the site on June 16, 23, and 30. Brown said people need to be at the museum at 8 a.m. on those days and need to provide their own transportation for the two-hour drive to the site.

___

Information from: Star-Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net

[Associated Press]