Prehistoric Elephant Found by Bachelor Party at Elephant Butte

Some guys get strippers for their bachelor party, but one group of guys had some entertainment that was exotic, but a bit older than the usual bachelor party fare!

The fellas were camping at Elephant Butte earlier this month when they found a 3 million year old stegomastodon tusk sticking out of the sand. A stegomastodon was a nine-foot tall, 13,000 pound prehistoric elephant. They started to dig and found an almost intact tusk and skull. They called the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, and let the experts take over from their.

Paleontologists were able to remove the nearly complete skull of the stegomastodon from the site, but the place where the fossil was found has not been disclosed to the public.

If you’re thinking of going and doing some digging around to find your own fossil, don’t. It’s illegal on state and federal lands to dig for or remove fossils.

Elephant Butte has gotten a lot of national attention following the Stegomastodon find, and officials and hoping to build an exhibit at the park where fossil discoveries like these can be displayed. They also hope the find leads to more visitors to Elephant Butte who want to learn more about the area.

If you want some more information on Elephant Butte or for more about the fossil find, you can call (505)467-9206 or go to sierracountynewmexico.info/elephant-butte.