Utah researchers found an Ice Age fox in a cave

Vernal, Utah – An almost complete red fox skeleton from the Ice Ages has been found, according to researchers from the USDA Forest Service Ashley National Forest and the Utah Division of State Parks. The body was discovered in a cave in northeastern Utah’s Uinta Mountains.

The skeleton is roughly 26,000 years old, according to the experts, who put a radiocarbon age on one of the bones when it was first found a few years ago. That would place its date during the Ice Ages right prior to the last glacial maximum. This indicates that the skeleton remained there for about 10,000 years when people began cultivating the first crops, and for over 20,000 years, when the pyramids of Giza were constructed.

The project’s principal organizer, John Foster of the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum, described the specimen as “beautiful.” Nearly every bone was intact and in good condition, and the entire animal was still resting where it had been for so long. Such specimens are uncommon to see.

The most common terrestrial carnivore in the world is the red fox. They arrived in North America from Eurasia between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago, according to the research team.

Known as “Roxy,” the virtually entire skeleton was discovered in a less accessible area of the cave. The museum conducted a survey before deciding on the name.

According to former National Park Service paleontologist Greg McDonald, an expert in Ice Age mammals, “this specimen is one of the oldest directly dated records of the red fox species.” “One of the oldest in North America, but the first in Utah.”

The most frequently asked question, according to Ashley National Forest geologist David Herron, who assisted in organizing and directing the expedition, is “how the red fox got nearly half a mile into the back of the cave in complete darkness.”

When the skeleton was first discovered a few years ago, it was not gathered since it was impossible to remove the delicate bones from the cave and down the mountain. However, after more preparation, the team chose to enter this past summer.

To pack out the bones without damaging them, the scientists employed specially designed plastic tubes. The team also took pictures of their location within the cave before removing any.

“It was difficult to get the supplies and equipment through the cave to the canid, and it was a little easier to get out with the skeleton,” Foster remarked. “We spent roughly six hours in the cave.”

The nine-person team needed about 16 hours to finish the full trek.

Few Ice Age mammals had been found in northeastern Utah prior to Roxy’s discovery. A camel’s shin bone discovered south of Vernal in the 1980s serves as one illustration. One of the most important Ice Age animal discoveries in the area, according to researchers, is Roxy’s skeleton.

Some of Roxy’s bones will be on exhibit at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, Utah, after being tested, cleaned, and stabilized. “After 26,000 years in complete darkness, Roxy has finally seen the light of day again,” Foster stated. “We’re excited to introduce her to guests soon.”