Stewiacke Mastodon

In 1991, a partial skeleton of an adult male was unearthed in the Gypsum Quarry in Milford, Nova Scotia. About 80,000 years ago this male mastodon fell into a sinkhole, broke its leg and drowned. Thousands of years passed and the sinkhole filled with vegetation and sediment, preserving the mastodon in dark clay, and preventing decay due to lack of oxygen.  Archeologists at the Nova Scotia Museum recovered the mastodon skeleton from the Milford quarry and studied the bones.

The Mastodon was found face down, in a sink hole, with a broken femur.  The Teeth of the Mastodon had developed pink-tooth syndome, which develops as a result of suffocation.  The cause of death seemed to be identified with these two discoveries.

What is a Mastodon?

80,000-100,000 years ago Mastodons roamed the forests and grasslands of the Maritime provinces.  Mastodons were elephant-like mammals that became extinct about 10,000 years ago. No one knows exactly why they went extinct, perhaps hunting caused their demise. Or they may have succumbed to rapid climate change as ice caps rapidly melted across the northern hemisphere.

During its lifetime, the Mastodon would have been living in a climate somewhat colder than our own, feeding on conifers and marsh vegetation. Its thick coat would have protected it from the cold.  Mastodons that did not succumb to disease or injury could live for about 55 years.

Evidence that mastodons roamed the forests and grasslands of the Maritime provinces comes from the discovery of partial skeletons and teeth.  Mastodon fossils have been found in every province and territory except PEI and Newfoundland.

What did mastodons look like?

Although mastodons were big, by human standards, being about 3 metres tall at the shoulders, they were only about two-thirds as large as an average elephant. But they had imposing tusks, up to 3 metres long, that swept forward rather than downward. They weighed between 4-5 tonnes.

What did mastodons eat?

Of nine well-preserved specimens, two had food in the mouth (twigs of larch, and resins and tars with a hiak with a high percentage of spruce pollen and some of pine, grass and composites). The remainder had stomach contents consisting of hemlock and cedar wood, conifer twigs, swamp plants and mosses. Nearly 250 litres ofof plant material were in the stomach of a mastodon found at Hackettstown, New Jersey. Perhaps mastodons used their tusks to pry off and break branches into bite-size pieces. When both tusks are preserved, one is usually shorter indicating preferential use er indicating preferential (the way people are right-or left-handed).

The Mastodons tooth were shaped to break and crush branches and marsh plants.  The name Mastodon, comes from greek mastós-odoús or, "breast tooth" as the bumps protruding from the tooth tops were similar in shape.  The Wooly Mammoth on the other hand - Another large elephant like species to roam north america - Had teeth more suitable for grinding grasses.

Please note that the Mastodon statue is fenced off during the colder months - but all questions are answerable without the plaques on site.