The unprecedentedly low level of the Danube River has revealed unexpected finds. Remains of a mammoth - a lower jaw, parts of a femur, tusks and dozens of bone fragments - have surfaced from the bottom of the river near the Ruse village of Ryahovo. The finds point scientists to remains from the last ice age, between 10,000 and 20,000 years old, Nova TV reports.
Krassimir Kirov is a curator in the “Nature” department at the Historical Museum in Ruse, who retrieved the remains from the bottom of the river. He indicated that they are of the species Mammuthus primigenius - a woolly mammoth. Male specimens reached 3.5 meters in height and weighed 5-6 tons, and had tusks over two meters long.
A model of the mammoth species in question was made in the museum.
Kirov was categorical that this animal lived in our lands about 10,000 years ago, and probably even earlier.
“There were quite a few individuals that inhabited the territory of today's Balkan Peninsula. Then the climate and geography were much different from the modern ones. Especially when it comes to the Danube River”, he added.
The discovery of the remains became world news. The director of the museum, Prof. Nikolay Nenov, pointed out that the institution's publication reached over 700,000 people on the first day. This means that almost every tenth person in Bulgaria has learned about the mammoth, he added. And he emphasized that the news has also received international attention.
“A mammoth lower jaw like this is a real treasure. It shows us exactly what happened to the individual in question. Also, this exhibit enters the museum and will remain here forever”, explained the professor.