Beagle trained to sniff out prehistoric fossils digs up remains of a woolly mammoth 

Give a dog a 250,000-year-old bone! Beagle trained to sniff out prehistoric fossils digs up remains of a woolly mammoth

  • Palaeontologist Jamie Jordan, 29, trained four-year-old Crystal to sniff out fossils
  • Crystal dug up an Ice Age bone from a woolly mammoth nicknamed Stompy
  • Mr Jordan, from Peterborough gives Crystal a treat every time she find a bone

A beagle trained to sniff out fossils has discovered a bone from a 250,000-year-old bone from a woolly mammoth.  

Crystal, four, has worked with her Palaeontologist owner Jamie Jordan, 29, to find fossils and remains of the oldest creatures on the planet. 

When out on a dig, Mr Jordan from March, Peterborough, will let Crystal sniff a piece of bone to pick up a scent and she’ll hunt out as many fossils as she can.

Crystal, four, has worked with her Palaeontologist owner Jamie Jordan, 29, to find fossils and remains of the oldest creatures on the planet

Mr Jordan, who runs museum and educational activity centre Fossils Galore, said: ‘Beagles are well known for their sense of smell, and if they can be trained to sniff out drugs, weapons and bombs. Why not try fossils?’

To train Crystal he started off with making her smell out bones from the Ice Age.

‘They have a very organic, very pungent and clay like smell.’ said Jamie.

In 2016, Crystal made the find of a lifetime when she dug up a huge leg bone of a woolly mammoth that is believed to have died 250,000 years ago, called Stompy.

When out on a dig, Jamie from March, Peterborough, will let Crystal sniff a piece of bone to pick up a scent and she'll hunt out as many fossils as she can

When out on a dig, Jamie from March, Peterborough, will let Crystal sniff a piece of bone to pick up a scent and she’ll hunt out as many fossils as she can

Every time Crystal comes back with a prehistoric prize, Jamie gives her a treat, making the entire search more like a game. 

Her owner said: ‘If they’re on the surface she’ll sniff it out and howl to alert us, but if the bone is underground Crystal will just dig down.’

Jamie said: ‘We got Crystal originally as a companion, we chose a beagle because I’ve always wanted a hound.’

He was inspired by his fossil hunting hero Mary Anning who would take her dog Tray on trips to the Jurassic coast in the Victorian era. 

Although some people say that Crystal can’t actually smell out the bones and is actually just picking the scent of her owners, Jamie has said they’re wrong: ‘We’ve proved that she can, we do it with gloves on and she still finds them.’

In 2016, Crystal made the find of a lifetime when she dug up a huge leg bone of a woolly mammoth that is believed to have died 250,000 years ago, called Stompy. Stock pic

In 2016, Crystal made the find of a lifetime when she dug up a huge leg bone of a woolly mammoth that is believed to have died 250,000 years ago, called Stompy. Stock pic

Every time Crystal comes back with a prehistoric prize, Jamie gives her a treat, making the entire search more like a game

Every time Crystal comes back with a prehistoric prize, Jamie gives her a treat, making the entire search more like a game 

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