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Moon Mammoths? ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ's connection to Erie's wooly mammoth story

Published: 07/02/2025

M. Jude Kirkpatrick and a ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ student at the time study wooly mammoth bones

With the recent buzz about Erie SeaWolves temporarily rebranding as the Moon Mammoths, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ is eager to share its historical connection with the name. 

The bones of a wooly mammoth, which were discovered in Lake Pleasant by George Moon, during the summer of 1991, were transferred from the lake straight to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ with the help and under the direction of former professor M. Jude Kirkpatrick.

"They (the bones), went straight from the lake to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ," Moon said in a 2021 Erie Times-News article. 

About 200 bones ended up being removed and studied by Kirkpatrick and ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ students. They studied the bones and used technology to create three-dimensional images of the mammoth skeleton, named "Willie" at the time. Now affectionately referred to as the "Moon Mammoth," it was estimated that the mammoth lived about 12,000 years ago in what now is Erie County and would have stood around nine to 10 feet high at the shoulder, weighing between five or six tons. 

"Kirkpatrick and five other volunteers, including the man who initially called him, began planning their search process to find the rest of the mammoth. Currently, they've unearthed 80 percent of it, and excavation is still underway," according to an article in The ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ Knight dated Sept. 9, 1991. 

At some point in the 1990s, the bones were loaned to the University of Michigan for research before being returned to Erie for a one-day display in 2012. 

The bones are currently housed in The State Museum of Pennsylvania, but not on display because they are too fragile. 

The ÂÒÂ×ÊÓÆµ Knight Mammoth Article