A 26,400-year-old Red Fox found in the Uinta Mountains a year ago is now temporarily on display at the Utah Field House/Dinosaur Museum in Vernal. The last year has been spent carefully acclimating the bones to warmer and drier conditions. According to an announcement from Utah State Parks, the museum team had to dry the bones out very slowly over several months. This was done by wrapping each bone in a small plastic bag when it was collected in the cave. At the museum, the bags were then opened just a crack every few weeks until all bones were totally dry. The temperature and humidity of the part of the cave the skeleton was found in have been a steady 40°F and nearly 100%, respectively, probably for thousands of years. The process of acclimating the bones to warmer, drier, and more fluctuating conditions outside the cave took some time. “We still keep the storage room Roxy is in as close to 72°F and 15-25% humidity as we can,” said the Utah Field House’s John Foster. “Once she is in a warmer and drier climate than the cave, the key is consistency from then on too.” Museum staff are 3D scanning and printing some of the bones as well, starting with the ones that will be used for a more refined carbon date and DNA analysis. Roxy’s first day on display was August 26th, the one-year anniversary of her “rescue” from the darkness of the cave. The parts of the skeleton on display will be out for approximately six months, after which they will be again stored in the more controlled conditions of the collections storage facility at the Utah Field House. All are invited to come see Roxy while the opportunity is there.
