Mammoth bone discovery by Derek Demeter and Henry Sadler goes viral

Monday, May 10, 2021
Written by: Mark Richardson

PHOTO: Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium at Seminole State College Manager Derek Demeter, left, and his friend, Pinellas County teacher Henry Sadler, found the mammoth bone in the Peace River near DeSoto County in southwestern Florida.

Like they have done many times before, Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium at Seminole State College Manager Derek Demeter and his friend, Pinellas County teacher Henry Sadler decided to go diving. Little did they know their underwater discovery on April 25 would go viral around the globe.  

Demeter and Sadler ventured out on the Peace River near DeSoto County in southwestern Florida when Sadler made a curious discovery. It took about an hour for the two of them to uncover what turned out to be a 4-foot long bone. 

"I remember coming to the surface and hearing Henry scream to me, "Derek, I think I found something crazy," said Demeter. 

"I felt what I thought was a log at first but upon closer inspection I knew what I was looking at; it was absolutely incredible," said Sadler.

Dr. Richard C. Hulbert Jr., Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History, confirmed that their find was a humerus bone from a Columbian mammoth weighing 50 pounds dating back to the ice age. 

The Columbian mammoth is the largest elephant to roam the Earth weighing close to 22,000 pounds and standing 13 feet tall. It roamed Florida during the Pleistocene age, 2.5 million years to 10,000 years ago.  

The bone is now sitting in Sadler’s classroom at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg for students to see up close and get a glimpse of the past.  

It was an amazing find in the depths of the Peace River, and it’s no surprise that their adventure went viral with media coverage from around the world.  

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About the Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium

Located on Seminole State’s Sanford/Lake Mary Campus, the Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust Planetarium at Seminole State College of Florida offers live, interactive shows and full-dome video presentations. For more information on the Buehler Planetarium and upcoming events, visit the planetarium website, like the planetarium on Facebook and follow it on Twitter and Instagram: @seminoleplanet.

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