By Tim Binnall
The installation of a swimming pool in Las Vegas came to an unexpected stop when workers unearthed the skeleton of what is believed to be a creature from the Ice Age. According to a local media report, the wild find occurred earlier this week as contractors had set about starting the project in the backyard of Matthew Perkins' home. He and his husband were taken aback when they looked outside and saw a group of police officers gathered around the freshly dug pit. Upon learning that the cops had been called because the worker had found bones in their yard, Perkins understandably mused that "it kind of freaked us out" until it was determined that the skeleton was not that of a human.
Surprisingly, the police officers suggested that Perkins and his husband simply throw the bones away, while the workers wished to just keep building the pool over the mysterious skeleton. While apparently neither the cops nor the contractors cared to figure out what the story behind the odd find might be, fortunately the couple's curiosity was piqued. As such, they opted to stop the project and enlist a paleontologist to investigate further. Joshua Bonde, who serves as the Nevada Science Center Director of Research, was brought in to examine the bones and concluded that they likely came from a horse that roamed the area sometime between 6,000 and 9,000 years ago.
As of now, the pool project remains on hold as Bonde works to see if the skeleton can be completely removed from the yard or if some of the bones are inaccessibly buried away under the foundation of the house. Sharing their story with a local TV station, Perkins couldn't help but note the irony of the situation as, prior to the start of the installation, he and his husband had joked that "maybe they will find a dinosaur for us and it will pay for our pool." While the Ice Age creature's remains are unlikely to provide any financial gain, they ought to at least provide the couple with a fantastic story to tell once the project is finally complete and they host their first backyard barbecue.