Archaeologists in Iowa have unearthed an ancient mastodon
skull in pristine condition, which they hope will provide clues
about human interaction with the ancient animal.

The bones were excavated earlier this month from a creek bank
in Wayne, taking nearly two weeks to complete.

The eroding site was first brought to the attention of Office of
the State Archaeologist, Iowa in 2022. 
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Human and a reconstructed extinct Mastodon. (Wikimedia Commons)

Eddie Templeton (pictured) found a portion of an Ice Age-
era elephant tusk exposed in a steep embankment while exploring in Madison County, Mississippi. (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality).

Columbian mammoths (below) were larger than wooly mammoths that roamed the northern regions of North
America, growing up to 15 feet and weighing over 10
tons, according to the MDEQ. (Mississippi Department
of Environmental Quality)
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On December 22, 1956, a baby gorilla named Colo entered the
world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, becoming the first-ever
gorilla born in captivity.

Before Colo’s birth, gorillas found at zoos were caught in the
wild, often by brutal means. In order to capture a gorilla when
it was young and therefore still small enough to handle,
hunters frequently had to kill the gorilla’s parents and other
family members.  

Colo was fond of baseball caps.

Colo on her 60^th birthday, surpassed the median life expectancy for female gorillas in human care (37.5 years) by more than two
decades.

Colo became a mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-
grandmother of 12 and great-great-grandmother of three.

She died in her sleep January 17, 2017, less than a month
after her birthday.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Neka, the oldest member of the
Oregon Zoo’s African lion pride, had a seizure and 
died Friday night at age 16.

Zoo officials stated that wild female lions rarely live
past 16  years old.

Neka with one of her cubs.

The oldest known living terrestrial animal is Jonathan (above), a Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa),
originally from the Seychelles, but now a long-time resident of
the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. He is believed to have 
been born (or hatched) c. 1832, thus making him 190 years old 
this year. In January 2016, the BBC reported that Jonathan was
given a new diet intended to keep him healthy and extend his life.

This is Johnathan in 2021.