Giant Irish Elk Skull & Antlers Fished From Lough Neagh

7th September 2018

Raymond McElroy with the remains of the Irish elk he fished out of Lough Neagh on Wednesday Credit: Ardboe Gallery/Facebook

#LoughNeagh - Ten thousand years after the Irish elk became extinct, the remains of one of its number have been fished out of Lough Neagh this week.

As BelfastLive reports, the remarkable find — comprising the whole skull and antlers of the giant deer — was caught in the net of Ardboe, Co Tyrone fisherman Raymond McElroy somewhere between Salterstown Castle and Ballyronan on Wednesday 5 September.

A jawbone taken from the lough in the same area four years ago has been dated to at least 14,000 years — and it’s possible the latest discovery could be from the same animal.

BelfastLive has more on the story HERE.

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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