Fishermen discover extinct Irish elk skulls and skulls fishing in Northern Ireland

The fishermen of Northern Ireland took an unusual fishing on Wednesday when they rolled up the massive skull and woods of great Irish momentum.

The artifact, estimated to be about 6 feet in diameter, was discovered when Raymond McElroy and his assistant, Charlie Coyle, fished in the northwestern region of Lough Neagh. The fishermen had left their fishing net in the water about 20 feet deep in the freshwater lake, reported Live Science.

In Northern Ireland, Raymond McElroy (pictured) caught the skull and antlers of an extinct Irish moose while he was fishing on 5 September. Ardboe Heritage

The two fished pollen between Salterstown Castle and Ballyronan when the skull and the massive woods got tangled in their net. McElroy told Belfast Live that when he climbed to the side of the boat in the net, he thought it was a piece of black oak.

"I was shocked at first when I got him overboard [of the boat] and saw the skull and the woods, "McElroy said. "It's pretty good."

Coyle said the two men thought they had found an old tree, but when McElroy pulled it, they saw it was the skull of an animal. "He said it was a momentum! I said it was the devil, "Coyle said, according to The Irish Post.

The skull and antlers were found in the same area as a lower jaw that had been removed from the lake in 2014. McElroy told Belfast Live that he believed both artifacts could come from the same animal. The jawbone discovered in 2014 was dated by Kenneth James, curator at the Ulster Museum, who was at least 14,000 years old.

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Irish elk, or Megaloceros giganteushave been missing for more than 10,000 years. According to the Museum of Paleontology at the University of California, the name is an improper term because the animal was neither exclusive to Ireland nor an elk. It was rather a giant deer that lived throughout Europe, North Asia and North Africa.

The gigantic extinct animal was seven feet tall and had antlers up to 12 feet.

Lough Neagh has provided other skeletal remains of giant beasts. Pat Grimes, a local historian who photographed the recent discovery, told Live Science that a set of woods attached to a skull had been discovered in 1987. The fisherman Felix Conlon, who had made this impressive discovery, had offered the skull and the woods at a local school. .

McElroy, meanwhile, has stored the woods and skull in his garage until the authorities decide where the remains of skeletons will be permanently housed.