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Meet the Big Beast at New York State Museum
Published Apr 15, 2008

During the 1866 construction of a mill in Cohoes Falls, workers unearthed the bones of a male mastodon. The exciting discovery was soon turned over to the Geological & Natural History Survey – which later became New York State Museum.

Today, the Cohoes Mastodon is one of the museum’s oldest and most popular exhibits. The large animal – believed to have weighed between four and five tons – has made several moves with the museum and even spent a period of time in storage. In June 2007, however, it relocated to its new, permanent home in the Exhibition Hall Lobby.

Robert Feranec, curator of vertebrate paleontology for the museum, says the new area is better suited for preservation.

“It has much tighter temperature control and no direct sunlight hitting the bones,” he explains.

Leading the way into the “Ancient Life of New York” exhibit, the impressive mastodon is a visible symbol of life 11,000 years ago.

“I think people are fascinated by animals we don’t have anymore,” Feranec says, noting that the skeleton reminds us that there is an awe to nature.

“I think it also teaches us a need for preservation … not only of these animals, but the ones we have around today such as black bear, coyotes, wolves and white tail deer. If we don’t figure out how to conserve them, we might not have them around for much longer.”

Story by Cindy Sanders

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Magazine:
Business Images of New York’s Tech Valley, 2009 Edition

Headline:
Meet the Big Beast at New York State Museum

Summary:
During the 1866 construction of a mill in Cohoes Falls, workers unearthed the bones of a male mastodon

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