Never miss a thing from Belfast and beyond - sign up for FREE updates direct to your email inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The skull of an extinct Great Irish Elk pulled from Lough Neagh in a fishing net is over 10,500-years-old.

Ardboe fisherman Raymond McElroy was pictured alongside his catch of the day on Ardboe Gallery’s Facebook page.

Great Irish Elks have not roamed the loughshore for thousands of years.

It’s understood a jawbone pulled from the lough in June 2014 was dated as at least 14,000-years-old by Ulster Museum curator Kenneth James.

But Mr McElroy’s find was a little more substantial.

His net hauled out almost the entire skull and antlers of the beast.

The amazingly well preserved fossil was found between Salterstown Castle and Ballyronan as the fisherman was out looking for pollan.

It's understood he had quite a job pulling it from the water.

Raymond said: "It came up in the net on the side of the boat. I thought it was a bit of black oak to begin with.

"I was shocked to begin with when I got it over the side and saw the skull and antlers.

"It's pretty good."

(Image: Ardboe Gallery)

The Ardboe fisherman said the skull and antlers was found in the same place as the lower jaw bone pulled from the lough in 2014, so he thinks both may be from the same creature.

Now, he said, he just has to figure out what to do with it.

Dr Mike Simms at the Ulster Museum said Great Irish Elk roamed Ireland's grass plains from about 17,000 years ago, until environmental changes caused their extinction around 10,500 or 11,000 years ago.

He added: "It's the first really good one I have seen in 20 years. They've been extinct since 10,500 to 11,000 years ago in Ireland. They hung on Siberia until about 6,500 years ago.

"They came in (to Ireland) when the weather was great on the grass plains, but then the trees started to grow.

"Giants antlers aren't great in the forest.

"Environmental change is what caused their extinction."

Dr Simms said the history of the great beast in Ireland will feature in the Ulster Museum's Dippy Exhibition, which starts on September 28.

Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.

Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.

Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .