A hunter was out looking for deer at a private ranch in West Texas when he spotted something unusual sticking out of the ground: a fossilized mammoth tusk. Now, researchers have successfully excavated the tusk and hoping to find out just how long ago it was that this megafauna roamed the land.

A hunter looking for deer on a West Texas ranch instead discovered a rare mammoth tusk, researchers say. The tusk was sitting in the drainage area of a creek bed on the O2 Ranch in Brewster and Presidio counties near Big Bend National park,

“Seeing that mammoth tusk just brings the ancient world to life,” Juett said. “Now, I can’t help but imagine that huge animal wandering around the hills on the O2 Ranch. My next thought is always about the people that faced those huge tusks with only a stone tool in their hand!”