Taproom Artifact Series: Meet our Wooly Rhinoceros

Smile! Don’t let the bungee strap that secures it him to his perch distract from the impressive horn on this replica of our Wooly Rhino.

You can call him our greeter of sorts. Next time you walk into the taproom look left. High above the metal sliding door that separates our event space sits this Wooly Rhinoceros skull. While they no longer roam the earth, we’re pleased to pay tribute to this lost creature of the past. Here’s a little bit about this mammoth herbivore.

The Woolly Rhinoceros is an extinct species of rhinoceros that roamed throughout Europe and northern Asia from approximately 350,000 years ago until only 8000 years ago. The wWoolly Rhino was covered in a thick shaggy coat of reddish-brown hair. Cave paintings depict it with a dark band of fur around its midsection. The most distinguishing characteristic of the Woolly Rhino was a large scimitar shaped horn that extended over one-meter long. The Woolly Rhino was a herbivore that roamed the great grasslands of Asia and existed beside the wooly mammoth, giant reindeer, and bison. Its fossils are occasionally found mummified in ice and mud and include fur and soft tissue. Cave paintings from Upper Paleolithic depict woolly rhinos and regularly their horns or bones were used as tools or weapons. Roughly 8000 years ago they disappeared due to climate change, human hunting, or hyper disease. 

We’ll introduce you to more of our Taproom artifacts that decorate our space educate our guests about our world’s history and happenings through the decades.

Cheers!