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Description

Species: Steppe bison Bison priscus.

Fossil: A single frozen mummified body, known as Blue Babe.

Age: 36,000 ya, Late Pleistocene.

Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.

Stats: Bison priscus adult 2m tall at shoulder.

Extra info: The almost entire mummified bison was found entombed in permafrost sediment by gold miners in 1979. After the University of Alaska was notified, the body was completely removed for examination. Extensive bruising, claw marks and tooth punctures on the body indicate that the bison was killed by predators. Although some sources indicate American lions Panthera atrox, the Beringian tundra was outside their natural range. Instead Pleistocene Alaska was effectively an extension of Northern Eurasia, and home to cave/steppe lions Panthera spelaea. The kill was probably made when conditions were cold, with the body freezing rapidly as it shows no evidence of scavenging. A bluish tinge on the skin caused by a reaction to Vivianite minerals in the surrounding silt was the inspiration behind the name, Blue Babe (a nod to the ox companion of the legendary American folklore hero Paul Bunyan).

Reference: www.uaf.edu/museum/press/spotl…

See also Royalty of the grasses - Lion

Description

Species: Steppe bison Bison priscus.

Fossil: A single frozen mummified body, known as Blue Babe.

Age: 36,000 ya, Late Pleistocene.

Location: Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.

Stats: Bison priscus adult 2m tall at shoulder.

Extra info: The almost entire mummified bison was found entombed in permafrost sediment by gold miners in 1979. After the University of Alaska was notified, the body was completely removed for examination. Extensive bruising, claw marks and tooth punctures on the body indicate that the bison was killed by predators. Although some sources indicate American lions Panthera atrox, the Beringian tundra was outside their natural range. Instead Pleistocene Alaska was effectively an extension of Northern Eurasia, and home to cave/steppe lions Panthera spelaea. The kill was probably made when conditions were cold, with the body freezing rapidly as it shows no evidence of scavenging. A bluish tinge on the skin caused by a reaction to Vivianite minerals in the surrounding silt was the inspiration behind the name, Blue Babe (a nod to the ox companion of the legendary American folklore hero Paul Bunyan).

Reference: www.uaf.edu/museum/press/spotl…

See also Royalty of the grasses - Lion