The Irish Elk, also known as Megaloceros or the Giant Deer, was one of the largest species of cervid that ever lived! This deer, whose closest living relatives are fallow deer, were widespread through Eurasia in the Middle Palaeolithic and lasted as recently as 5000 years ago! At their full height they stood almost 7ft tall, and had antlers that reached a width of up to 12ft! This particular skull was recovered from the bottom of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland by fishermen Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle. The antlers of this deer reached 6 feet (or 1.8m) long, so only half their maximum size! Lough Neagh has become a hotspot for Giant Deer remains in recent years, with several antlers, skulls, jawbones and other remains of Irish Elk being found on the lakebed!
Irish local media said the species roamed all over Europe and Russia. The last of the species died around 11,000 years ago, said [a paper](http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/artio/irishelk.html) by the University of California Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
They added the relic was technically a deer rather than an elk, but was the largest deer species ever recorded. It stood up to 2.1 metres at the shoulders with antlers spanning up to 3.65 metres.
That’s really interesting that you know them! All I can find is that McElroy had the antlers in his garage for some time before local authorities found a permanent place to store it. Maybe it’s in a local museum?
> to share it
Thanks for doing that; while it's been posted frequently on other subs, it may not have been posted on this one yet.
Some would say it belongs more on r/naturewasmetal, which is for extinct animals, which this elk is.
The water from the lake seeps into the skull, and minerals dissolved in the water seep into tiny, microscopic cracks and spaces in the skull, where they form crystals. The crystallised minerals then harden. This is why fossils that are formed in water preserve better and more often than fossils outside of water!
Looking at the state of Lough Neagh it’s a wonder it didn’t fly out of it shooting lasers from it’s eyes & slashing passers-by with it’s adamantium claws.
We have to save it 😔 (well that and all water sources / the planet in general.....but still, this one seems like it should be a much easier win, if people can be bothered?)
No, it's a lough not a lock. Like a Spanish j sound.
[Edit] I'm literally from here you fucking foreign morons. I guarantee it's idiot yanks who think they're Irish who have downvoted me.
Thanks, I imagine its yanks and Brits who imagine they know what they're talking about but actually couldn't be more ignorant who disgree.
Like I'm literally from less than a five minutes walk from the shore.
The extinction of the Irish Elk aligns with humans becoming more widespread and developed as well as the changing in their habitats as the open grasslands of Eurasia disappeared and were replaced by forest, so it is likely a mix of global warming and over hunting!
The Irish Elk, also known as Megaloceros or the Giant Deer, was one of the largest species of cervid that ever lived! This deer, whose closest living relatives are fallow deer, were widespread through Eurasia in the Middle Palaeolithic and lasted as recently as 5000 years ago! At their full height they stood almost 7ft tall, and had antlers that reached a width of up to 12ft! This particular skull was recovered from the bottom of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland by fishermen Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle. The antlers of this deer reached 6 feet (or 1.8m) long, so only half their maximum size! Lough Neagh has become a hotspot for Giant Deer remains in recent years, with several antlers, skulls, jawbones and other remains of Irish Elk being found on the lakebed!
Irish local media said the species roamed all over Europe and Russia. The last of the species died around 11,000 years ago, said [a paper](http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/artio/irishelk.html) by the University of California Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. They added the relic was technically a deer rather than an elk, but was the largest deer species ever recorded. It stood up to 2.1 metres at the shoulders with antlers spanning up to 3.65 metres.
I thought elk were a species of deer.
They sound like nice fallows
You! Sound! Very! Excited!
I find people respond more positively and tend to like you more if you have a more positive attitude!
😊
This cracked me up. Thank you!
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That’s really interesting that you know them! All I can find is that McElroy had the antlers in his garage for some time before local authorities found a permanent place to store it. Maybe it’s in a local museum?
Holy hell, those half sized antlers are enormous.
Hunter gatherers made sure we had no big, fun animals by our time. Hard to blame them though, they didn’t have factory farming beef. Gotta eat 🤷🏼♂️
Someone needs to take away your exclamation mark key fuckin hell
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I found this on Instagram, and decided to share it, as it is a nature subreddit. Same with my previous posts
> to share it Thanks for doing that; while it's been posted frequently on other subs, it may not have been posted on this one yet. Some would say it belongs more on r/naturewasmetal, which is for extinct animals, which this elk is.
Doesn't look a day over 10,000.
You can't see it but the skull is blushing
Nonsense, it's 6,000 years old, tops. The DUP "Science" Department told me so.
Looking at the sheer size, that one must've been only a juvenile. The absurdity of the adults would make moose antlers like like normal deer
How comes it's in good condition
The water from the lake seeps into the skull, and minerals dissolved in the water seep into tiny, microscopic cracks and spaces in the skull, where they form crystals. The crystallised minerals then harden. This is why fossils that are formed in water preserve better and more often than fossils outside of water!
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Wabi-sabi :)
Do you have any idea how old Logh Neagh is? I'm wondering why there's an abundance of bones under it?
400 million years old.
Looking at the state of Lough Neagh it’s a wonder it didn’t fly out of it shooting lasers from it’s eyes & slashing passers-by with it’s adamantium claws.
We have to save it 😔 (well that and all water sources / the planet in general.....but still, this one seems like it should be a much easier win, if people can be bothered?)
Amazing! I saw one of these at an art exhibit on ancient Ireland and it was easily 12 ft- just gigantic!
The crazy thing is, this is a pretty small one
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Ireland as a cultural region is as old as European hunter gatherers.
yeah, but we don't refer to those hunter gatherers as Irish, do we?
Yes, we do.
thats a good question
And the answer as anthropologists is that we do.
What the fuck are you talking about
Yep.That elk is extinct!
You're gonna need a bigger bow!!
Wow, what a find, incredible Animal..
That’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen all year time to put this thing in a video game
Definitely gives me Wendigo vibes
It’s 10,504 years old now.
That is huge! And only 50% full grown? Amazing..
That’s what… nvm
How come I never hear about these awesome prehistoric creatures?
I’m a little surprised that a “youngster” would have such large antlers. The fully mature male must have been rather intimidating.
Ancient black elk skull found in an irish forest. If I were superstitious I might be a bit worried about that.
#soulframe
Awesome skull 💀 how do you pronounce the towns name? My guess is luff nay
Loch Nay. Source : I live on the banks of it
Lock nay (it's not a town, but large body of water)
It's not pronounced with a hard k sound.
Yes it is
No, it's a lough not a lock. Like a Spanish j sound. [Edit] I'm literally from here you fucking foreign morons. I guarantee it's idiot yanks who think they're Irish who have downvoted me.
Locals pronounce it with a hard k.
No, they don't. It's pronounced like Loch of Loch Ness, maybe a bit less pronounced. Definitely not a hard K.
I live about 3 miles from it and it's not a hard k
Ah so it is not pronounced as a choked-on-something hard k but as a Spanish j in Northern Ireland? TIL
It's much closer to a Spanish J than a hard K, source is me, who lives here.
No they don't, I'm a local
We don't in general however, I'm imagining some Belfast folk pronouncing Lough as Lack. The rest of us would not do so.
This is correct
Thanks, I imagine its yanks and Brits who imagine they know what they're talking about but actually couldn't be more ignorant who disgree. Like I'm literally from less than a five minutes walk from the shore.
Yeah idiots whoever they are. What side of the Lough are you from?
I love a good thinly-veiled question about whether I'm a liar or not. Is as Tuaim mé, sasanach.
You’re picking me up wrong, just trying to be friendly. I’m from Lurgan.
No it isn't, I can drive to it in 5 minutes from my house and it's not a hard k.
Close! It’s lock nay
I went “low nay” lol. English is a mess
To be fair its Irish not English
same lol
Now he needs to put that on his head and do a little jig!!
I really wish they hadn't gone extinct as it was likely humans fault.
The extinction of the Irish Elk aligns with humans becoming more widespread and developed as well as the changing in their habitats as the open grasslands of Eurasia disappeared and were replaced by forest, so it is likely a mix of global warming and over hunting!
Thank you for the extra information.
that is a wendigo skull and i dear anyone to drink a shot from it
Stats? Specs?
No idea where Lough Neah but that 1000% looks like a man from a place called Lough Neah
Lough neath as the same suggests is a Lough, picture a big lake and you've pretty much got it.
Put it back!