Eddie Templeton, a regular fossil hunter, stumbled upon an incredible find while wading through a rural Mississippi creek.

The enthusiastic fossil collector spotted a tusk protruding from the creek bank in Madison County. He recognized it as a relic from the last ice age and soon discovered it was a complete tusk belonging to a Columbian mammoth.

"Probably two-thirds of it was showing. I thought, Wow, this is a lot of tusk," Templeton told
.

As he extracted it, Templeton realized the entire 7-foot-long tusk was still whole, "which was extraordinary."

The discovery of the intact mammoth tusk is considered an "extremely rare occurrence for Mississippi," according to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

"Most fossil tusk ivory found across the state are simply fragments, and most are likely attributed to the more prevalent mastodon," MDEQ stated in a statement on Friday.

The colossal Columbian mammoth, a proboscidean related to modern elephants that roamed during the Pleistocene Epoch, could reach heights of 15 feet at the shoulder and weigh over 10 tons. The discovery of the tusk is the first of its kind for this region, according to MDEQ, which noted that mammoths are "far less common finds in Mississippi as they were open grassland grazers and would have thrived in only a limited number of environments, particularly the prairie regions of Mississippi."

Templeton mentioned his initial disappointment with the creek's conditions due to the high water levels at the time. He had only been exploring for about 30 minutes on the morning of August 3 when he stumbled upon the tusk while searching the bank for fossils.

He sent a photograph of the tusk to state geologists and George Phillips, the paleontology curator at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson. Based on the tusk's curvature, it was suspected to belong to a Columbian mammoth, rather than the more common mastodon, MDEQ stated.

"This thing makes almost a full circle, the way it curves," Templeton explained. "I've never found an entire mastodon tusk, but I have discovered some quite large pieces, and they definitely don't curve like that."

The enormous fossil required immediate removal, otherwise the heat would dehydrate it and the tusk could break.

"We had to act fast, because once it starts drying, it begins to delaminate and can deteriorate rapidly," Templeton explained. "Our primary goal was to protect it, move it out of the creek, and to a safer environment."

Templeton recognized it was too large for him to excavate alone, and was soon joined by the Mississippi State Geological Survey paleontological team from MDEQ. They dedicated the rest of the day to carefully extracting the fossil from the embankment.

After being photographed in its original location, the fossil was encased in a protective plaster jacket to stabilize it for removal, MDEQ reported. The fossil, weighing approximately 600 pounds in the plaster jacket, was then carefully lifted onto a makeshift stretcher fashioned from an ATV ramp, according to MDEQ. It was then transported up a steep slope onto a truck and delivered to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science for preservation and scientific examination.

"Eddie's discovery offers a rare glimpse into the Columbian mammoths that once inhabited Madison County along the Jackson Prairie in central Mississippi," stated MDEQ.

The tusk belonged to an adult mammoth that would have lived toward the end of the Pleistocene Epoch and could be as much 75,000 years old but as young as 11,500, Phillips told
. It was confirmed to be a mammoth tusk due to the "extreme curvature, nearly a complete circle," that is characteristic of the proboscidean, he said.

The fossil is currently being dried. After a couple of months, it will be treated with a compound "very similar to what's used in laminating safety glass for car and truck windshields," Phillips explained.

Once it's cleaned and preserved, the museum hopes to get a more accurate estimate of the mammoth's age at death by counting the rings where the tusk is broken in the middle, he said.

The museum also hopes to put the fossil on display, with a possible temporary exhibit starting as early as March 2025, Phillips shared.

Templeton has been a fossil hunter for decades, uncovering Ice Age finds like giant beaver and saber-toothed cat bones. He considers the mammoth tusk one of his two most impressive discoveries - the other being a complete mastodon mandible, "with teeth and everything." He found that in 1996 and donated it to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.

"It's absolutely captivating to me," he remarked. "It's hard for anyone to resist being drawn to this kind of stuff once they start seeing it."

He said he's happy the discovery is bringing attention to Mississippi's scientists, the museum, and the area's rich geological history.

"Many people are unaware that such things even exist," he said.

Experts believe the mammoth perished close to where the tusk was discovered, and its remains were subsequently transported along the stream channel, according to MDEQ. The tusk was covered with alluvium, likely during a significant flooding event, MDEQ stated. Phillips informed ABC Jackson affiliate WAPT that the tusk would have probably been buried "relatively quickly" to have been preserved so well.

Templeton, who reported venturing out in search of fossils every few weeks, expressed his intention to return to the creek where he discovered the tusk the following weekend for his next fossil hunting expedition.

"Now I'm hoping to find a mammoth tooth," he said. "Knowing that a mammoth died right here, I'm confident I'll find a mammoth tooth."