Yukon Miners Discover Two Mammoths

A crew of miners working outside Dawson City, Yukon, has unearthed a pile of fossils that appear to be the nearly-complete skeletons of two woolly mammoths, according to CBC Canada.

Trey Charlie, a placer miner at the Little Flake Mine on the Indian River, was with a co-worker working with excavators about two weeks ago, moving mud at the mine site when they found a tusk. 

Mammoth bones are relatively common. The large, furry elephants roamed Alaska and Yukon until about 12,000 years ago. 

The Yukon government has now taken possession of the bones for further study after the mine called them to report the discovery. Miners are legally required to report such finds to the territorial government. 

The Little Flake Mine has a crew of about 25 people.