A Leisurely Kayak Trip Leads To The Remarkable Discovery Of A Grizzly In Kansas

Ashley and Erin Watt have always enjoyed the outdoors.

Over the years, they’ve spent a lot of time floating down the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas. Because of record-setting rains this spring, the two didn’t make their first kayak trip down the river until mid-August.

But what started as a leisurely trip ended with a remarkable discovery.
Sitting in the middle of a sand bar was a nearly 18-inch long, incredibly preserved, grizzly bear skull.

“The fact that we have a bear skull is a very, very rare event,” paleontologist Mike Everheart said.

As far as he knows, it’s the only one ever found in Kansas.

It’s a lot more common to find the bones of ancient bison along that stretch of the Arkansas River. Some of those fossils date back to the Ice Age.

This grizzly skull found on the Arkansas River could be 20,000 years old.
CREDIT ASHLEY AND ERIN WATT

While figuring out the age of the grizzly skull will be difficult, its proximity to the bison bones could offer a clue.