Scientists have discovered the tragic story of Fred the mastodon using analysis of his skeleton. A paleoecologist named Josh Miller formed a team at the University of Cincinnati to try to figure out what happened.
Mastodons are an extinct type of mammal related to the elephant and the wooly mammoth (which went extinct). Fred the mastodon died a long time ago but has a tragic story that scientists pieced together using analysis.
When Fred was little, he stuck together with his herd, like most mastodons do. However, once most mastodons grow up, they start becoming a nuisance, so their family kicks him out of the herd. This happened to Fred.
Miller said, “They’re essentially just really obnoxious, and they’re just getting in everyone’s hair. They’re just not particularly helpful members of the herd. And at that point, the mom, the aunts, will essentially boot that individual from the maternal herd.”
After Fred was kicked out of the herd, he lived in today’s Indiana. Miller suspects he wanted to live here so he could compete in mating competitions that was held each summer.
In the competition, mastodons would fight each other using their tusks. The mastodon who won would get the mate. However, the fights would sometimes kill one of the mastodons or even both of them.
Fred was one of the unlucky mastodons. He died one summer when one of his opponents stabbed his skull using his own tusk.
Scientists have been able to figure out a lot about Fred. Fred was a good mastodon to analyze in general, because his body was well preserved. Miller said, “He has beautifully preserved bones, beautifully preserved tusks, and that really provides a beautiful opportunity to do this kind of work.
Miller’s team focuses more on two isotopes: strontium and oxygen. Strontium isotopes are used to figure out where Fred went on the world, as they are in the water and plants. They all have different amounts of isotopes. Oxygen isotopes, on the other hand, tell when Fred was somewhere. There are different amounts of oxygen isotopes in the air at different seasons.
These two isotopes helped piece together the story of Fred.
Source;https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657494641870x134317712564602900/The%20story%20of%20Fred%20the%20mastodon%2C%20who%20died%20looking%20for%20love%20_%20NPR.pdf
Mastodons are an extinct type of mammal related to the elephant and the wooly mammoth (which went extinct). Fred the mastodon died a long time ago but has a tragic story that scientists pieced together using analysis.
When Fred was little, he stuck together with his herd, like most mastodons do. However, once most mastodons grow up, they start becoming a nuisance, so their family kicks him out of the herd. This happened to Fred.
Miller said, “They’re essentially just really obnoxious, and they’re just getting in everyone’s hair. They’re just not particularly helpful members of the herd. And at that point, the mom, the aunts, will essentially boot that individual from the maternal herd.”
After Fred was kicked out of the herd, he lived in today’s Indiana. Miller suspects he wanted to live here so he could compete in mating competitions that was held each summer.
In the competition, mastodons would fight each other using their tusks. The mastodon who won would get the mate. However, the fights would sometimes kill one of the mastodons or even both of them.
Fred was one of the unlucky mastodons. He died one summer when one of his opponents stabbed his skull using his own tusk.
Scientists have been able to figure out a lot about Fred. Fred was a good mastodon to analyze in general, because his body was well preserved. Miller said, “He has beautifully preserved bones, beautifully preserved tusks, and that really provides a beautiful opportunity to do this kind of work.
Miller’s team focuses more on two isotopes: strontium and oxygen. Strontium isotopes are used to figure out where Fred went on the world, as they are in the water and plants. They all have different amounts of isotopes. Oxygen isotopes, on the other hand, tell when Fred was somewhere. There are different amounts of oxygen isotopes in the air at different seasons.
These two isotopes helped piece together the story of Fred.
Source;https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657494641870x134317712564602900/The%20story%20of%20Fred%20the%20mastodon%2C%20who%20died%20looking%20for%20love%20_%20NPR.pdf
