Ohio museum begins moving 10,000-year-old mastodon

COLUMBUS (AP) — The big move is under way for an Ohio museum's roughly 1-ton, 10,000-year-old mastodon.

In Columbus, the Ohio Historical Society today began the job of taking its 10-foot-tall skeleton apart so it can be reassembled in a more flattering position. The mastodon's giant back end now greets visitors through a lower-level entry way which became the main entrance in the current, handicapped-accessible era.

Bob Glotzhober, museum senior curator of natural history, says a crew of eight started by removing both sets of legs. He says the rest of the skeleton is supported by a steel bracket.

Glotzhober says the shifting of the mastodon — named Conway after the man who unearthed him in 1887 — should be completed Saturday, on schedule.