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U.S. coal miners unearth a mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years

7-foot-long tusk pulled from an old stream bed in North Dakota
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North Dakota Geologic Survey Paleontologist Jeff Person sits behind a 7-foot mammoth tusk on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at the Geologic Survey office in Bismarck, N.D. Coal miners unearthed the tusk in May 2023 at the Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota. Paleontologists subsequently discovered other mammoth bones at the site. The tusk and other bones are wrapped in plastic for their protection as the paleontologists work to preserve them. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

The first person to spot it was a shovel operator working the overnight shift, eyeing a glint of white as he scooped up a giant mound of dirt and dropped it into a dump truck.

Later, after the truck driver dumped the load, a dozer driver was ready to flatten the dirt but stopped for a closer look when he, too, spotted that bit of white.

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