A life sized Mastodon statue commemorates ancient fossil finds in Nova Scotia

A life sized replica named Marvin the Mastodon stands at Mastodon Ridge in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, to honor prehistoric remains found in the region.

An excavator operator discovered a tusk and bones while digging a sinkhole at the National Gypsum Quarry near Milford in 1991. Workers eventually uncovered the partial skeletons of an adult male and a juvenile mastodon, which are prehistoric relatives of modern elephants. Researchers believe the adult male lived about 80,000 years ago during the Ice Age.

The animal likely fell into a boggy wetland and died from its injuries or starvation. The community erected the 14 foot tall statue in January 1995 to mark the discovery. While the statue remains in Stewiacke, the original fossils are kept at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax. These prehistoric giants lived in forested landscapes and wetlands instead of the tundra.