A fossil hunter in Mississippi recently unearthed an intact mammoth ivory 7 feet long.

Believing it was the tusk of a mastodon, a far more common proboscidean in the area, Eddie Templeton was nevertheless ecstatic to find one that wasn’t fragmented.

But it was only after scientists arrived from the Mississippi Museum of Natural History and were able to examine it that the real former owner of the tusk became clear. It was the ivory of a Colombian mammoth—the largest mammoth in North America, and rarely documented this far south.

He has found mastodon teeth, jaws, saber-tooth cat gnashers, and other Ice Age treasures, but the size, majestic curl, and rarity of the ivory surely places it not only among the most remarkable finds of Templeton’s career, but among the most remarkable in the state’s history, as it’s the first time an intact tusk from this species has been found in the Magnolia State.

“Mississippi was home to three Proboscideans during the last ice age: Mastodon, Gomphothere, and the Columbian mammoth. All three possessed ivory tusks,” the Mississippi Museum of Natural History wrote in a statement regarding the discovery.

“Mastodons are by far the most common Proboscidean finds in Mississippi as they were browsers, like modern deer, and inhabited a variety of different environments. Mammoths which were related to modern elephants are far less common finds in Mississippi as they were open grassland grazers and would have been at home in only a select few environments, particularly the prairie regions of Mississippi.”

The Columbian mammoth could grow 10 feet tall and weigh 15 tons, but despite this size advantage, the smaller wooly mammoth outlived them by about 6,000 years.

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The ivory was transported to the Museum of Natural History after being covered in tin foil, slathered with plaster, and wrapped in burlap—the technical procedure for exhuming a fossil from the ground.

Once the plaster jacket containing the fossil tusk dried, it was carefully lifted onto a makeshift gurney fashioned from an ATV ramp. The fossil specimen in the jacket weighed about 600 pounds.

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Stuck in the mud for over 10,000 years, the tusk is well preserved, but contact with oxygen can cause rapid deterioration, so once the covering is removed, a glaze rather like the kind used to laminate safety glass in car windows will be applied in order to put the ivory on display, slated for spring 2025.

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STARKVILLE – Two weeks ago, Ilana Izquierdo was in Paris representing Colombia in the women’s soccer tournament. Thursday night, she was in Starkville kicking off No. 15 Mississippi State’s season with the first goal in the third minute of a 1-0 win against Baylor.

The Bulldogs’ offense was a threat all night with 17 total shots and four on goal, but only one got through. Maddy Anderson recorded just one save in the shutout victory.

Mississippi State (1-0, 0-0) will return to action in Starkville on Sunday against Northwestern State. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network+ at 1 p.m.

No games scheduled.

Women’s Soccer: No. 15 Mississippi State X, Baylor X

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On beating Texas in 2002, when asked if he regretted not hyping Kliff Kingsbury more: “I don’t even remember what I said. I hope whatever I said was cute and clever, and maybe even a tiny bit humorous. I hope it wasn’t mindless babble, and if it was, hopefully everyone will forget about it pretty quick.”

Mississippi State fans are excited about the Jeff Lebby era in Starkville as their new head coach begins his first season with the school. With extensive ties to former Baylor head coach Art Briles, Lebby figures to roll out one of the nation’s most exciting passing attacks. Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs football program gave their fans something else to get amped up about, new uniforms.

They unveiled some new all-white alternate uniforms on Wednesday evening.

The uniforms are expected to be worn at home in their “Whiteout game” against the Florida Gators. These are pretty much the same uniforms as their primary away uniforms, but on the newest Adidas template with perforations on the numbers/stripes/decals.

Mississippi State has an exciting group of offensive weapons heading into the 2024 campaign. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see how Lebby plans on deploying and utilizing them.

One player who the Bulldogs are expecting big things from this fall is receiver Kevin Coleman, who started out his career at Jackson State in 2022. He hauled in 32 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns that year en route to becoming the SWAC Freshman of the Year. That success carried over to Louisville last season, where he hauled in 26 catches for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Coleman also ran the ball for 117 yards on 26 carries. Mississippi State is hoping for a big season from him this fall.

Then there’s an electrifying freshman wideout, Mario Craver. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game in January, hauling in a 51-yard touchdown catch in that one. In the Mississippi State spring game, he hauled in five catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.