The baby mammoth Lupe and his story (5 photos + 1 video)

A life-size mammoth sculpture marks the spot where the remains of a Columbian mammoth were discovered in 2005.





In 2005, a 44-year-old auto mechanic named Roger Castillo was walking his dog along the Guadalupe River. The San Jose native knew the area well, having fished the river as a child and exploring it extensively as an adult. But on this particular walk, when his dog began to dart up the slope, Castillo saw something no one had ever seen in the river. The discovery was truly astonishing, as it turned out to be the bones of a Columbian mammoth.



Castillo reported the discovery to a geologist from San Jose State University and the owners of the property. With the help of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, the bones protruding from the riverbanks were determined to be the tusks of a young Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) aged 12,500 years. And the most complete mammoth remains ever found in the area.





The mammoth remains were excavated and are now part of an exhibit at the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. The site is marked by a sculpture of a Columbian mammoth made from bent pipe. Designed by Freya Bardell and Brian Howe, it weighs nearly 5.5 tons.