A mastodon named Fred, had an unfortunately violent and sad ending. But what happened to him thousands of years ago? Scientists may finally have discovered the answer.
Fred was born more than 13,000 ago in the midwestern USA. As a youngster, he spent most of his time following his family. But as time went on, when he was almost mature, his family decided that it was time to leave. Now all by himself, Fred started a new life as an adult mastodon.
From then on, Fred would compete every summer with other males for a mate. They would fight with their tusks until their opponent was killed. Sometimes, both would get killed. Unlucky for Fred, one of these fights brought him to an end. An article wrote, ” Every summer, he’d compete against other males for a mate. These competitions were violent, physical battles, one of these fights brought Fred to an untimely end one summer.”
At the age of 34 and in the prime of his life, Fred was suddenly killed when a rival’s tusk pierced his skull. After he died, his body sank into the swampy earth. When he was finally found, his bones were still preserved. Josh Miller, a paleoecologist at the University of Cincinnati, said swamps were particularly good for preservation, which made Fred a unique research opportunity. “He has beautifully preserved bones, beautifully preserved tusks, and that really provides a beautiful opportunity to do this kind of work,” he said.
The paleontologist discovered that Fred’s tusks have layers and layers like the bark of a tree. Each layer has nutrients, which can provide information to scientists about different points in his life. The tusks showed that Fred’s first twelve years were peaceful and quiet, but in the years after, the tusks started to have signs of battle.
Soon, in one of these bloody battles, he met his untimely death, bringing the story of Fred, the mastodon, to an end.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657494641870x134317712564602900/The%20story%20of%20Fred%20the%20mastodon%2C%20who%20died%20looking%20for%20love%20_%20NPR.pdf or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon.
Fred was born more than 13,000 ago in the midwestern USA. As a youngster, he spent most of his time following his family. But as time went on, when he was almost mature, his family decided that it was time to leave. Now all by himself, Fred started a new life as an adult mastodon.
From then on, Fred would compete every summer with other males for a mate. They would fight with their tusks until their opponent was killed. Sometimes, both would get killed. Unlucky for Fred, one of these fights brought him to an end. An article wrote, ” Every summer, he’d compete against other males for a mate. These competitions were violent, physical battles, one of these fights brought Fred to an untimely end one summer.”
At the age of 34 and in the prime of his life, Fred was suddenly killed when a rival’s tusk pierced his skull. After he died, his body sank into the swampy earth. When he was finally found, his bones were still preserved. Josh Miller, a paleoecologist at the University of Cincinnati, said swamps were particularly good for preservation, which made Fred a unique research opportunity. “He has beautifully preserved bones, beautifully preserved tusks, and that really provides a beautiful opportunity to do this kind of work,” he said.
The paleontologist discovered that Fred’s tusks have layers and layers like the bark of a tree. Each layer has nutrients, which can provide information to scientists about different points in his life. The tusks showed that Fred’s first twelve years were peaceful and quiet, but in the years after, the tusks started to have signs of battle.
Soon, in one of these bloody battles, he met his untimely death, bringing the story of Fred, the mastodon, to an end.
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657494641870x134317712564602900/The%20story%20of%20Fred%20the%20mastodon%2C%20who%20died%20looking%20for%20love%20_%20NPR.pdf or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon.
