A super-sniffing beagle discovered a woolly rhinoceros bone that died more than 250,000 years ago.
Four-year-old Crystal worked with her paleontologist owner, Jamie Jordan, 29, searching for fossils and remains of the world's oldest creatures.
Mr. Jordan, from Peterborough, said: "We had Crystal as a companion initially, we chose a beagle because I always wanted a dog."
Rather than walking in Crystal, Jordan is inspired by the legendary paleontologist Mary Anning to train his dog in search of ancient artifacts. The Victorian fossil hunter Anning was taking her dog to the Dorset Jurassic coast in search of all sorts.
Mr. Jordan began by making sure that Crystal has an odor of ice-age bones, which would have an organic, pungent, and clayey odor. During excavations, the owner of Crystal will let her sniff a piece of bone in order to catch a scent and she will search for as many fossils as she can.
Once trained, Crystal discovered an unforgettable life by digging up a huge woolly rhinoceros leg, nicknamed Stompy, who died a quarter of a million years ago.
Collage representing Pleistocene – woolly rhinoceros in the background of the winter tundra.
Woolly Rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Impression of artists of a woolly rhinoceros. This extinct mammal existed during the Pleistocene and Holocene eras, from 1.8 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. It was widespread in the tundra of northern Eurasia until the end of the last ice age. It was well suited to harsh cold conditions with thick, hairy fur, small ears, short legs and a massive body to maintain heat loss. The cave paintings made by early humans 30,000 years ago show woolly rhinos as well as other large mammals. The woolly rhino has reached 2 meters high at the shoulder and 3.5 meters long. It had two horns, the longest, a forehead of up to 1 meter long.
Woolly Rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). Artist impression of two woolly rhinos. This extinct mammal existed during the Pleistocene and Holocene eras, from 1.8 million years ago to 10,000 years ago. It was widespread in the tundra of northern Eurasia until the end of the last ice age. It was well suited to harsh cold conditions with thick, hairy fur, small ears, short legs and a massive body to maintain heat loss. The cave paintings made by early humans 30,000 years ago show woolly rhinos as well as other large mammals. The woolly rhino has reached 2 meters high at the shoulder and 3.5 meters long. It had two horns, the longest, a forehead of up to 1 meter long.
07.06.2018, Yakutsk, Russia. Side view of the woolly rhinoceros extinguished in the air.
07.06.2018, Yakutsk, Russia. Side view of the woolly rhinoceros extinguished in the air.
A woolly rhinoceros stands on top of snowy rocks in an ice age scene. The fur-covered beast is a massive creature with a large curved horn and a large build. 3D rendering
Rupert van der Werff of Summers Place Auctions puts the finishing touch to an extremely rare and almost complete skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros at a preview at Walled Garden in Billingshurst, West Sussex, for the upcoming Summers Place Auctions, including skeletons from the Ice Age. and part of the Berlin Wall. (Photo of Gareth Fuller / PA Images via Getty Images)
Rupert van der Werff of Summers Place Auctions puts the finishing touch to an extremely rare and almost complete skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros at a preview at Walled Garden in Billingshurst, West Sussex, for the upcoming Summers Place Auctions, including skeletons from the Ice Age. and part of the Berlin Wall. (Photo of Gareth Fuller / PA Images via Getty Images)
BILLINGSHURST, ENGLAND – MARCH 5: Rupert van Der Werff of Summers Place Auctions with a rare skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros long extinct (one of only three in the world) goes on sale next Tuesday (March 12) March 5, 2019 in Billingshurst, England. The skeletons of the Ice Age will pass under the hammer along two sections of the Berlin Wall. (Photo by Andrew Hasson / Getty Images)
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Whenever the dog returns with a prehistoric prize, Mr. Jordan gives him a gift, making all the research entirely profitable for the talented tailwind.
Mr. Jordan told the subway: "If they are on the surface, she will sniff it and scream to alert us, but if the bone is underground, Crystal will simply dig."
