London, Sep 23 (IANS): A woolly mammoth skeleton, having remained a part of a private collection for years in Europe, is all set to be auctioned in Britain.
The specimen, which is particularly unusual because it is virtually complete, including tusks, is expected to fetch between 150,000 to 250,000 pounds when it is auctioned Nov 26, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
The skeleton stands 3.5 metres tall and is 5.5 metres long, suggesting it may have been a male that weighed up to six tonnes.
The woolly mammoth walked the earth during the Ice Age, before dying out about 10,000 years ago.
Summers Place Auctions, selling the mammoth at its second Evolution sale which takes place Nov 26, believes it may be the first time a woolly mammoth skeleton has been auctioned in Britain.