Mammothfest, a unique event in Croatia, is dedicated to the promotion of the extinct prehistoric animal that inhabited large parts of Europe, Asia and North America during the Late Pleistocene Ice Age.
That mammoths once inhabited this part of the Danube River valley became known after villager Goran Popović in 2012 discovered a mammoth tooth in his yard. A few years later, Popović found and dug out another mammoth tooth and since then, the locals have been calling their village the Mammoth Valley.
"I went to pick rose hips by what once was the local fishpond. As I was walking, I saw a fragment of a strange-looking bone protruding from the earth. I started cleaning it carefully with a pocket knife and since I could not pull it out, I went home to take a pickaxe and carefully dug it out and took it home and cleaned and washed it," Popović says.
He says that he soon realised that what he had found was a mammoth tooth, weighing around three kilograms, and he reported his discovery to the Ilok Town Museum and the Croatian Natural History Museum in Zagreb.
The two finds bear evidence that a long time ago, mammoths inhabited the area of Mohovo, and this has also been confirmed by elderly villagers who recall finding in their youth large bones in the area, which they believed were the remains of some large animals.
Dražen Japundžić of the Croatian Natural History Museum says that preliminary paleontological digs have been conducted in the area of Mohovo, and that the two teeth found indicate that the area could be rich in paleontological finds.
Paleontological research to start
Japundžić says that such finds in the area are nothing new but that they are exceptionally valuable, adding that the museum welcomes possible systematic research.
The head of the Vukovar-Srijem County Office for Tourism and Culture, Tamara Kalistović, has confirmed that 8,800 euros has been secured from the county budget to launch systematic archaeological research in Mohovo and that an additional €5,000 has been requested from the Culture Ministry.
The county authorities are working on technical documentation necessary for an interpretation centre, to be called "Mammoth Valley", for which €16,700 will be allocated, she said, noting that the county authorities believe the project could be of great value for the county in terms of tourism and employment in the area of Ilok.
As county authorities are planning investments in tourism, a group of Mohovo residents led by Goran Popović four years ago launched Mammothfest, an educational and entertainment event, held in October and featuring thematic workshops, guided tours, performances and music and culinary happenings.
They say that they want a mega-park to be built in Mohovo, with replicas of all animals that inhabited the area in the Ice Age, with accompanying facilities and spaces for workshops and education.
Visitors to Mohovo are welcomed by a sign that reads "Welcome to the Mammoth Valley", and in the centre of the village they can see the life-size sculpture of a woolly mammoth, a work by Osijek sculptor Nikola Faller.
This year's Mammothfest in Mohovo is taking place from 11 to 13 October.