Mammoth Tooth Found on Golf Course in Saranac, Michigan

by alia_d | August 24, 2009 at 09:23 am

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Patrick Walker, a groundskeeper at the Morrison Lake Country Club in Saranac, Michigan, discovered a 10,000-year-old mammoth tooth last Tuesday, August 18, when he was on the greens. Recent rains exposed the mammoth tooth, which was lying underneath the greens in the 83-year-old golf course.

Patrick Walker, who recently graduated from high school, knew he had found the tooth of an extinct animal because he paid attention in his science class.

"Mr. (Douglas) Schmuck always told us to keep your eyes open, you never know what you'll find," said Walker, a 2009 graduate of Lakewood High School. "He's into archaeology and taught us about that kind of good stuff."

The mammoth tooth, which weighs 10 pounds, probably belonged to a female adolescent Columbian mammoth, according to Scott Beld, a research specialist from the University of Michigan's Museum or Paleontology.

After the mammoth tooth was found, Scott Beld visited the site and discovered other mammoth bones.

The exact site where the mammoth tooth was discovered is being kept a secret, as the site may hold more remains. The owners of the golf course do not want the site to be raided or for golfers to be disturbed by visitors to the site.