Roaming Ice Age bison “steppes” into new home Rod Hatfull was mining for gold when he stum- bled on an archaeological treasure. Hatfull was working in the Indian River region outside of Dawson City, Yukon in 1991 when he noticed the tip of a fossilized horn sticking out of the riverbank. After work, he carefully excavated the permafrost, hoping he'd find more than just a single horn. “After an hour and a half, it just popped out,” said Hatfull. “Tt” was the rest of an intact skull of a 25,000- year-old Bison Priscus, or Beringian Steppe Bison; an extinct cousin of the modern North American buffalo. Hatfull looked in awe at the skull’s empty sockets and huge horns. “It was an incredible feeling, to be the first person to ever see this animal,” says Hatfull. “It’s hard to describe.” Hatfull hung on to his discovery for over a decade, packing it around on a number of moves, but he wasn’t really sure what to do with it except admire it. Then, last fall, he saw an article on Douglas College Geology, Anthropology and Environmental Science instructor Michael Wilson, who has been researching the Beringian Steppe Bison since 1969. Hatfull, who has his degree in psychology, realized his fossil would be worth its weight in gold to Wilson. He contacted the instructor and offered to donate his bison skull to the College. Wilson was delighted to accept. “I guess there was a reason for me to have carried the bison skull around with me for all these years,” says Hatfull. So after 13 years of being herded from pillar to post by Hatfull and 25,000 years after laying down its life on the banks of the Indian River, the Bison Priscus skull has a new home — the Geography lab at Douglas College. The skull was officially delivered to Wilson by Hatfull on April 1. “This is the skull of a mature adult male, about eight or nine years old — just a little past his prime,” declares Wilson after a preliminary examination of the fossil. “It’s marvelously intact.” Wilson says the skull will eventually be on display in the Geology lab. Students will be able to of his first paper, pub- measure and describe it. lished in 1969. Wilson Wilson wants to take a has been published small sample and have a DNA analysis done on extensively on the topic since then. in the prestigious journal, Science. Wilson and the team of scientists led by Alan Cooper and Beth Shapiro of Oxford Rod Hatfull (left) and Michael Wilson and the skull of Bison Priscus, the Beringian Steppe Bison. the beast. He may even Last fall, Wilson was the hold a “name the bison lead Canadian author on skull” contest to give the a paper written by a team nameless slaill a Handle. of international scientists that examines the Bison have fascinated extinerion of the Wilson since he was a Beringian steppe bison graduate student. The around the end of the last animals were the subject Ice Age. It was published Foundation’s Eighth Annual Awards Tea Tea for three College Foundation Executive- Director Myrna Popove (left) meets with Bursary Award recipients Carolyn Long (centre) and Kristi Dosen (right) during the Foundation's Eighth Annual Awards Tea held March 30 at the New Westminster Campus. The special event brought together 120 scholarship and bursary winners and donors. The event was also the last tea for retiring Popove as executive- director — but she promises to be back as donor of the Dr. Philip Popove Memorial Award. University, UK, conclude that climate change, not over-hunting by humans, caused the demise of the species that once num- bered in the millions. ‘The paper, “Rise and Fall of Beringian Steppe Bison,” is based on an extensive lab study which examined the DNA of 442 bison fossils from North America, Siberia and China. Wilson contributed his expertise as a paleontologist who has studied bison fossils for nearly four decades. Wilsons says advances in DNA analysis have changed the way scientists look at the bison. A complex and fascinating picture of life before, during and after the last Ice Age is emerging. “What we're finding is there wasn’t just one species of Beringian bison — there were about a half a dozen different types, and we don’t even know what to call them,” says Wilson. “Every one of these specimens is valuable, because they add to understanding of the big picture.” Hatfull says it wasn’t all that difficult to part with his treasure, given how important it may prove in Wilson’s quest to identify and classify the Northern Steppe Bison. “It would have been a shame to continue to store it when so many could enjoy its beauty and learn of its history,” says Hatfull. “It feels good knowing that others will enjoy and hopefully be inspired to learn more about fossils.” Library closures during Summer inventory During the upcoming Summer inventory both campus Libraries will experience brief closures. To reduce the impact on the College community, one Campus Library will remain open at all times. The New Westminster Campus Library will be closed between August 15-23. The David Lam Campus Library will be closed between August 24-26. The print and AV collection housed at the closed campus will not be available for borrowing during inventory. Both Libraries will be open August 29. Please check the Library Web site for hours of operation at http://library.douglas. be.ca/ hours_ summer. html ‘To pre-book library sessions, audiovisual materials/equipment or to place materials on reserve during closures, please contact the open libra ry. From August 15—23, call David Lam at 604-777- 6100. From August 24— 26, call New Westminster at 604-527-5467. Please remember to return all Library materials borrowed during the summer semester by August 13.