Another fisherman, some years ago also found the complete jawbone of the Giant Elk and it is estimated to be at least 14,000 years old. Some thirty years ago, a fisherman caught a set of antlers in his net in the same lake, which he donated to a local school, where it is proudly displayed. The male and female Irish elk (Cervus megaceros), now extinct ( public domain ) The skulls and antlers The duo brought the antlers and skulls to a local historian Pat Grimes who photographed and shared the find.

At first, they were unsure what to do with the find. The fishermen were shocked when after some effort they drew the net on board, to see the skull and antlers. The two fishermen pulled the net from the waters and to their amazement they found a skull and a set of antlers. According to the Irish Times, the fishermen ‘thought their nets had snagged on an old piece of the dead tree’, lying at the bottom of the lake. They were fishing in about 20 feet or six meters of water about half a mile (one and a half kilometerS) from the shore. The Irish Elk by Charles R Knight ( public domain ) The discovery of the antlersĮarly one morning some fishermen, Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coy, after a poor night’s fishing on Lough Neagh, in County Tyrone, found that their nets had snagged something large and heavy, but it was evident that it was not a fish. The animals became extinct because of environmental change, when its grassland habitat was replaced by dense forests, several thousand years ago. The species is related to modern deer and was once indigenous to an area from Siberia to Ireland and have even been uncovered in North Africa. According to Live Science, the name ‘Irish elk is a bit of a misnomer on both parts, in that they're technically deer, and were found well beyond Ireland’. This Elk (Megaloceros giganteus) has been extinct for many thousands of years and it is also known as the Giant Elk, because of its enormous size and bulk. They are believed to come from the extinct Irish Elk, and it is expected that they can help experts to better understand these huge prehistoric animals and the environment in ancient Europe. It is estimated that they are about six feet (1.7 meters) wide, much larger than the antlers of any living creature.

Fishermen in Northern Ireland had an amazing catch in Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles, when they retrieved a huge pair of ancient elk antlers.

Irish elk horns