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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CatDaddy" data-source="post: 111740" data-attributes="member: 755">I promised Svn I wouldn't let this thread die without giving the end to the story....I failed.  ;:;bangheadNot sure if this is the true end of the story or not, but here's what I finally found out:Dr. Wendy Reed at NDSU, a vertebrate morphologist in the biology department gave the opinion that this antler was from a massive specimen belonging to the Eastern Elk, a subspecies that was extirpated from our area in the 1850's by hunting.  She said that conclusive evidence would come from a genetic test that NDSU is not capable of, however she was confident in her answer and was excited for my find!  According to her, the Eastern Elk is extinct and was wiped out completely in the U.S. from over hunting by settlers in the 1890's. She was unable to give any information on age of the antler except when the animal no longer existed.It's enough for me to hear from her - I am not currently in a position to pony up for the $$ to genetically test but maybe someday I'll prioritize it and get it done!- - - Updated - - -Thanks Trapper - Donald was the contact that put me in touch with Dr. Reed!- - - Updated - - -And a comment on the Heritage Center.  I emailed back and forth a few times with their Chief Paleontologist, during which they seemed uninterested and told me that they don't do carbon dating so basically good luck.  Didn't point me any other direction, offered no other information, but did tell me it would cost thousands to get it dated.  They then stopped communicating with me.  I was gracious in all emails and NEVER demanding of anything - curious why it was so unimportant to them. Oh well.</blockquote>

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