Freaky Las Vegas Find: Carved Woolly Mammoth Tusk at Treasure Island

By Scott Roeben, on November 19 2013
2 min read 1 comment
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Las Vegas is full of surprising discoveries, from the Berlin Wall behind the urinals at Main Street Station to a chunk of the Blarney Stone on the second floor of The D.

There’s a fascinating item at Treasure Island you may have passed by innumerable times and never even noticed. Trust us, though, it’s worth a closer look.

wolly mammoth tusk
Prepare to be amazed.

Near the cashier cages at Treasure Island is a display case containing a woolly mammoth tusk. This would be remarkable enough on its own, since, as a plaque near the display states, woolly mammoths “roamed the Earth during the Pliocene Epoch which ended 4,500 years ago.”

But what makes this woolly mammoth tusk remarkable (other than the fact it’s in a Las Vegas casino) is it has hundreds of tiny figures carved into it. The work is intricate and downright captivating.

We barely have the attention span to write a blog post, much less spend a lifetime doing one carving.
We barely have the attention span to write a blog post, much less spend years carving figures into a woolly mammoth tusk.

The plaque goes on to explain, “The carving on the tusk is presumed to have taken many generations to complete. As you view the tusk, note the transition of military garb and weaponry which change with the generations.”

“Many generations.” Wow.

wolly mammoth tusk carving Las Vegas
Dude, perk up, you’re immortal. Sort of.

The mind reels at the time and dedication it took to create such a hand-crafted masterwork, not to mention the sheer skill it required.

It’s a wonder to behold, and it’s available for viewing 24/7, free of charge.

Who says Vegas doesn't have art and culture?
Who says Vegas doesn’t have art and culture?

Yep, we’ve got more photos, although they can’t possibly do the carving justice. Drop by Treasure Island and see it for yourself.

Carved Mammoth Tusk at Treasure Island