By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Just outside of Waco, where the Brazos and Bosque rivers merge, lies the Waco Mammoth Site where 24 mammoths have been uncovered and the site is under excavation. — Photo courtesy of Mayborn Museum Complex

April 13, 2006 - It is difficult to imagine what life on earth was like 28,000 years ago. Picture huge, hairy elephant-like creatures roaming around the Waco area, where the Brazos River and Bosque Rivers meet. A large herd of mammoths were grazing in a gully, when a thunderstorm trapped them in the area. As the water rose, the bull tried to lift the baby mammoth out of the gully using its massive tusks. Suddenly, a riverbank caved in and the herd was lost forever.

This story is believed to be true, as the Waco Mammoth Site, located near the confluence of the Brazos and the Bosque rivers, was discovered in April l978 when local residents found bones eroding from a creek bank nearby. From 1978 to 1981, portions of five mammoths were uncovered. By July 1984, six more mammoths were unearthed. More flooding exposed additional specimens, and 24 mammoths have been identified to date, with the possibility of more specimens in the ground.

This discovery has received world-wide attention and the Waco Mammoth Site is the largest known concentration of a single herd of mammoths dying from the same event, explained Ellie Caston, chair of the Department of Museum Studies at Baylor University and director of the Mayborn Museum Complex in Waco, both of which are involved with the mammoth site. Archeologists and paleontologists from Sweden and Great Britain have visited the site and many of the remains have been excavated and are in storage or still being researched.  

 “There is a large cast of a mammoth at the Mayborn Museum Complex,” Caston said. “Baylor and the city of Waco have been working together to protect the site, as well as develop further research and educational opportunities. Right now we are working on acquiring land around the site and protecting the excavation so that it might one day be available to visitors.”

The bones of the mammoths led researchers and paleontologists to the conclusion that the mammoth herd died from a flood. 

"I think it is really sad," said Cheryl Taylor, assistant director of marketing at the Mayborn Museum Complex. "The bull and the matriarch's remains were found wrapped around the baby as if they were trying to carry it away from the flood water."

.Caston added, “The National Park Service (NPS) is planning a study to determine whether the Waco Mammoth Site is eligible to be included as a new unit of the National Park System.”

 On December 16, 2002, President Bush approved H.R. 1925, a bill that led to establishment of Public Law 107-341, in which Congress directed the National Park Service, in consultation with the State of Texas, the city of Waco, and other appropriate organizations, to conduct a special resource study of the Waco Mammoth Site. 

“Chet Edwards sponsored the legislation authorizing the study in an effort to recognize the site’s significance and to provide for educational opportunities, which makes us really grateful for this opportunity,” Caston said.

The special resource study (1) assesses resources in a given study area to determine whether they meet the criteria for addition to the national park system, and (2) offers recommendations for resource protection and public use and enjoyment. Based on eligibility, the best management options, and analysis of the environmental impacts, a recommendation is made to Congress as to whether the site should be included as a new unit of the National Park System. 

The special resource study project began in the summer of 2005, with public and agency scoping taking place in the fall of 2005. The project is currently working on projecting a newsletter about the mammoth site to the public. The project should be completed in the fall of 2007, after the final study is documented and sent to Congress, Caston explained.