04082015Wed
Last updateWed, 08 Apr 2015 12pm

Discovery of Lake Chapala’s prehistoric wonder beast: a look back 15 years on

On April 12, 2000, as Lake Chapala was plunging towards its lowest level in half a century, mariachi musician Juan Santos Enciso and his family set out for an outing on the vast beach near their home in Santa Cruz de la Soledad.  As they scrounged around for stones to improvise a fire pit for cooking their midday picnic fare, Santos picked up an odd-shaped object. It turned out to be a small bone from a prehistoric beast, later identified as an ancient ancestor of the elephant.

“At first I thought it was an old grinding stone. Then it started to crumble in my hands,” Santos explained as he told his story to the Guadalajara Reporter the following day.

Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.