Out of the Ice Age: Replica woolly mammoth on display in Iowa

Mahaska County, Iowa (KCCI) – The bones of a Woolly Mammoth are out of the Ice Age and in Mahaska County for anyone to see. And the historic discovery is teaching us a lot about Iowa’s history.

“I’d hate to see that coming over the hill at me,” said John Boggess, referencing the replica of the woolly mammoth.

They were big and furry! And called Iowa home thousands of years ago.

Boggess discovered woolly mammoth bones in the Hawkeye State in 2010.

Jane Krutzfeldt, of Oskaloosa, was one of the first to see the bones on display Tuesday. She hopes it catches more attention.

“The discovery of the mammoth bones and Mahaska County really is what got people talking,” Krutzfeldt said.

Now, a replica of the mammoth mammal is on display in Mahaska County for people to see and learn about.

Boggess made the discovery when one of his sons saw a bone poking out of the ground near a creek.

After lots of digging, they hit a historical jackpot!

“I knew what it was pretty much right off the bat,” Boggess said. “An expert from Illinois told me that the one mammoth we found would have been about three foot taller than this 112 foot tall the shoulder.”

The Mahaska County Conservation Board now has the bones and uses them for educational purposes.

The board invites people to come and see the display and learn more about the large animals.

“Everybody has an interest in seeing the mammoth bones and knowing that there were bones just like this found at a farm in rural Mahaska County,” Krutzfeldt said. “I think people will come from other places to see the mammoth replica.”

The county conservation board says the bones are the first scientific evidence of a Mammoth population in Iowa.

The display is at the Educational Learning Center in Oskaloosa.

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