The Future Lies in the Ice Age

The retrieval was done in secret after the discovery. Only the divers, a handful of college students and their professor knew. They did not want the site disturbed until all the remains were brought to the surface. Sometimes, the answers are right below our feet.

Almost the entire skeleton was recovered. The skull, however, was never found. The bones had marks consistent with hacking the flesh off. Later, it was determined the remains were of a twenty year old male and it was likely large rocks were used to keep the body on the mucky bottom of the ancient, spring-fed lake.

Lake Pleasant, where the remains were discovered, is located in southern Erie County, Pennsylvania. Even today it is largely undisturbed by development and provides a unique habitat for many plant and marine species uncommon in the area.

The lake, which is about 45 feet deep, is one of seven glacial lakes in northwestern Pennsylvania; the others are: Canadohta, LeBoeuf, Edinboro, Sandy and Sugar. They are frequently called "kettle lakes" because large chunks of ice from the Wisconsin glacier, 13, 000 years ago, remained and melted filling large earthen depressions or kettles.

Lake Pleasant, like the others, has always been a popular fishing spot for anglers although no gas or electric powered boats are allowed. However, Lake Pleasant is different. The fens surrounding the lake are rich in biodiversity; rare and endangered species of plants thrive in the hummocks.

The remains, those of a woolly mammoth, were called the "Moon Mammoth" after the diver who found the remains, George Moon. It took Moon and six other divers two months and over thirty dives to bring the remains to surface under the direction of a Gannon University anthropology professor, M. Jude Fitzpatrick and his students. The remains were then shipped to the University of Michigan where they were studied by University of Michigan paleontologist Daniel Fisher.

The head of the Moon Mammoth could have been chopped off and eaten first, according to speculation, similar to customs in Eskimo cultures before the carcass was sunk in the cold waters of the 64 acre lake. Indications are that it was sunk in the lake to help preserve the meat; when hunger set in, the mammoth was pulled back to the surface and hunks of meat carved.

Estimates vary, but the mammoth, which is related to the modern day elephant, generally roamed North American regions between 9,000 and 13,000 years ago. The estimated weight of an adult mammoth is between 4 and six tons.

Mastodons, similar to the mammoth, also roamed the regions and have been discovered in the northeast more frequently; in the Michigan area alone over 250 mastodon remains have been discovered. Both are large animals with adults standing ten feet tall of better; mastodons, however, have bigger teeth.

Conneaut Lake, one of the seven in northwestern Pennsylvania, also has yielded evidence; the remains of five woolly mammoths, indications of several mastodons and several wapiti, a primitive elk. Conneaut Lake, in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, is a short distance of about forty miles from Lake Pleasant.

Conneaut Lake, which is an old Native American word meaning "land of the melting snow", is Pennsylvania's largest natural lake covering 934 acres. It is estimated that the deepest section is around 68 feet. It is the most developed of the seven glacial lakes surrounded by cottages and businesses, including an amusement park.

Like it's smaller cousin, the lake is a popular fishing spot. In 1924, the state record for a muskie was caught in Conneaut Lake and fishing remains good although it remains the most developed and popular inland lake. Unlike Lake Pleasant, there is a museum housing the ancient creatures. The Lakeland Museum has a woolly mammoth display and other ancient artifacts.

Speculation varies regarding what happened to these once native animals. Human hunting, some kind of a celestial collision with earth, disease, climate change or a combination of factors could be part of the equation. Or perhaps something else which still remains unknown and elusive. But the Ice Age Woolly Mammoths might just hold some valuable clues.

Woolly mammoths are being studied worldwide and recent research has established the genome sequence of the woolly mammoth which could open the doors to reasons for their extinction and possible insights into man's future and global climate change.

Some new research on Ice Age mammoths is examining the impact on the environment when the mammoths became extinct and the possible consequences for the planet in the face of global warming. Other research teams are more closely examining North America since the extinction happened at about the same time as the glaciers were retreating and mankind made it's first arrival

With the genome sequence being completed, other research teams in universities believe it is theoretically possible that in the not too distant future real life Jurassic Parks could be as common as computers, space travel and cell phones today, all of which were day dreams a mere twenty-five years ago.

Sometimes, the answers are in our neighborhoods right below our feet.