Fishermen find 12,000 year old woolly mammoth tooth and put it on eBay

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11 Mar 2022, 13:15

Credit: New England Fishmongers

Credit: New England Fishmongers

We’ve heard some pretty amazing stories about things fishermen pull up when they’re out at sea, from accidentally reeling in sharks to finding an unopened bottle of whiskey inside of a fish.

Well now, a crew of a New Hampshire fishing boat has found something even more incredible.

As they were out dredging for scallops off the coast of Massachusetts this week, the crew got quite a surprise as they pulled up a 12,000 year old woolly mammoth tooth.

The crew, known as the New England Fishmonger, found the 11-inch-long tooth off the coast of Newburyport, Mass and had no idea what the item was until they took it to the University of Hampshire, where experts were able to identify it.

 Speaking to NBC Boston, Geology Professor Will Clyde said: “I always love thinking about the landscape in New England, with mammoth and mastodons walking around, and in terms of geological times, that wasn’t that long ago.”

You might think such a historical item belongs somewhere like a museum or university, however, the crew has different plans.

Credit: Getty

Credit: Getty

Captain of the New England Fishmongers, Tim Rider, said that the tooth is going to be auctioned on eBay for $9,600.00.

It’s for a good cause though, as all proceeds will be donated to the World Central Kitchen, a charity that is working to provide hot meals to the refugees of Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

He told Seacoastonline: “I’m a fisherman, but anytime you see families and children struggling in that type of situation, you really try to be thankful for what you have and do what you can to help”

The woolly mammoth is believed to have existed in America around 100,000 years ago and mainly lived in what is now known as Alaska, Canada and the northern US mainland.

The exact cause of their extinction is not known, but it is thought that being hunted by humans and the change in climate, which began between 42,000 and 6,000 years ago, had something to do with it.

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