‘Extremely rare’ giant ground sloth fossil dating back 11,000 years unearthed by Manatee County utilities crew

Construction crews unearth fossil from giant sloth

Manatee County utility crews unearthed a piece of history, dating back thousands of years, while digging a trench for a waterline.�Kimberly Kuizon reports.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Manatee County utility crews unearthed a piece of history, dating back thousands of years, while digging a trench for a waterline. 

The backstory:

They found a fossilized claw of a giant ground sloth that was covered in dirt and vines.

"They were digging away and found what they thought was an ordinary tool," said Charlie Hunsicker, the director of Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department. 

It wasn’t a tool and there was nothing ordinary about it. 

"This was a wonderful story of happenstance," said Hunsicker. 

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Dig deeper:

Dating back more than 11,000 years, the fossilized find was determined to be a claw from a Jefferson’s ground sloth, a slightly smaller version of the giants that first inhabited South America. 

"When South America and North America joined, those animals migrated up through Texas, Mexico and into the Southeast. All of this was really a tropical jungle and forest at the time," Hunsicker explained. 

What's next:

Manatee County brought the fossilized claw to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, where they’re working to preserve it and eventually put it on display.

"The Giant Ground Sloth could get as large as a modern-day elephant. They could be 20 feet long, be 13 feet tall standing on their back legs and they would be about 8,000 pounds plus. This one is a little bit smaller, but they could be absolute giants," said Andrew Sandall.

What they're saying:

Andrew Sandall, CEO of The Bishop Museum, called the find extremely rare. 

"This is a little pocket of megafauna that lived in Florida and to find evidence of them that survived as well is really, really rare," he stated. 

The Bishop Museum said it is a one-in-a-million find and something others can learn from. 

"For people to be able to see these and realize they are walking on land that once these giant creatures were on it is quite something. It is mind-blowing," said Sandall.