of rare mammoth skeleton found in los angeles

Nearly intact mammoth skeleton a rare find in L.A.: Nearly intact skeleton of mammoth found at Los Angeles construction site. Columbian mammoth's skeleton was unearthed near the La Brea tar pits. Both of mammoth's tusks were discovered intact -- a rare occurrence.


Assistant lab supervisor Trevor Valle discusses the teeth and lower jaw of Columbian mammoth fossil "Zed."

He had a rough life during the Ice Age, walking around with a couple of broken ribs and a possibly cancerous lesion on his jaw before dying at a young age. Now, at least 10,000 years later, visitors in Los Angeles, California, can see the remains of "Zed," a Columbian mammoth whose nearly intact skeleton is part of what is being described as a key find by archaeologists at Los Angeles' George C. Page Museum.

Zed was discovered at a construction site in the heart of Los Angeles. An earth mover helping to build an underground parking garage near the L.A. County Museum of Art uncovered the mammoth's skull, according to project director Christopher Shaw.

Meganne Macias works on the giant pelvis of the Columbian mammoth fossil.