14 DAY TRIAL // If you have several hundred thousand dollars that you have absolutely no use for lying around your house, here's what you can do: book a trip to the village of Billingshurst in West Sussex, UK, and bid on a nearly complete woolly mammoth skeleton.
Granted, you'll probably have to spend some money on taking it back home with you, but if you're a big fan of the Ice Age, it will totally be worth it. Or so the people organizing the auction say.
One seriously impressive skeleton
Information shared with the public by Rupert van der Werff, the current director of Summers Place Auctions, says that this woolly mammoth skeleton measures an impressive 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length and stands about 11.4 feet (3.5 meters) tall.
So, yes, if you're considering buying it, you’d better make sure that you have a big enough living room to provide a comfortable home for it. Otherwise, you'll probably have to donate it to a museum and stick to showing your friends seashells whenever they come around.
Experts estimate that, when alive, the mammoth whose skeleton is to be auctioned off in Billingshurst, West Sussex, this coming November 26 weighed about 6 tonnes. The animal is estimated to have walked the Earth about 10,000 years ago.
What makes this skeleton stand out is the fact that, unlike other mammoth remains unearthed over the years, it is nearly complete. Granted, it is missing a couple of toes, but it sports an impressive set of tusks that more than make up for this inconvenience.
According to Daily Mail, these tusks measure about 8 feet (2.4 meters) in length each. “What’s exceptional about this one is it’s more or less complete with two magnificent tusks,” James Rylands with Summers Place Auctions said in a statement.
Who could possibly buy it?
Apparently, there are many people in this world who are passionate enough about the natural world to be ready and willing to invest in buying a mammoth skeleton. Actors John Travolta and Leonardo DiCaprio count themselves among these people.
As Rupert van der Werff put it, “All sorts of people are collectors. The most famous ones are John Travolta and Leonardo DiCaprio. It's something to really show off about.” Furthermore, “Nearly complete skeletons are pretty rare. This is a fabulous skeleton in pretty good condition.”
The people organizing the auction expect that the woolly mammoth skeleton will sell for about $409,000 (€317,991). Hopefully, whoever buys it will agree to donate it to a museum for the entire world to see and admire rather than simply lock it up in their basement.