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In 1962, paleontologists uncovered the rarest of Ice Age fossils in the Nebraska badlands: two complete male mammoths tangled in a death grip by their 12-foot long tusks. But what made these usually peaceful titans fight? And why did they die together? The quest to unravel the mystery of their deaths was the focus of an NET Television-produced segment for the PBS series "NOVA scienceNOW," which aired July 30.

Ask the Expert »  Have questions about the pair of Columbian mammoths found entwined by their tusks? Or about Pleistocene megafauna ("big animals") or other aspects of North American paleontology? See Mike Voorhies' response to viewer questions collected by NOVA scienceNOW.

Caption for photo above: Mike Voorhies, emeritus curator of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Nebraska State Museum, and University of Michigan paleontologist Dan Fisher examine the remains of Clash of the Mammoths.
	Dr. Mike Voorhies, an undergraduate student in 1962, was part of a crew of University of Nebraska paleontologists called to investigate.
	During the past three months, NET graphic designer Tom Floyd spent nearly 1,000 hours preparing various stages of hand-drawn two-dimensional animations to help illustrate the mammoth mystery.
	A mural by Mark Marcuson depicts the struggle between two mammoths interlocked forever. Learn more about the mammoth fossils now located at Trailside Museum of Natural History.