The dog keeps its shape for 60 years stuck in the trunk

The hunting dog trapped in the oak chests by chasing prey remains the same shape as the dead without decomposing thanks to many factors.

When the logging workers at The Georgia Kraft Corp cut the tops of an oak chestnut tree to load on a transport truck, they saw a white-brown hound sticking their heads out looking at them from the empty space on the log. In fact, the dog became a petrified mummy after failing to struggle to escape the tree, Newsweek reported.

Stuckie is permanently stuck in the oak chestnut tree.(Photo: Newsweek).

Around 1960, the dog ran through the hollow at the base of the tree and from then on the hole was raised 8.5 meters above the ground because the stem grew long."It was a male hound, so we guessed it was chasing something through the tree," Bertha Sue Dixon, managing the Southern Forest World Museum, where the dog's body was kept, said. Due to the narrow space, the dog is trapped. It never catches prey and no one pulls it out. It is impossible to escape, it stays in the random trap and dies.

Twenty years later, the logging workers found the immobile dog. Instead of crushing the log, they donated to the Southern Forest World Museum. The dog was named Stuckie and became the focus of attracting attention since then. Today, visitors can watch the dog through the glass with the posture stretching out to find freedom.

The dog's body was preserved intact for such a long time thanks to the characteristics of the wooden tomb surrounding it. Kristina Killgrove, an anthropology anthropologist at the University of West Florida, explains how oak trees store dry carcasses.

Oak chestnut roots.(Photo: Newsweek).

Normally, when a person or material goes, the bacteria in the body are not controlled by biological processes such as living things. Without these processes, they begin to eat the body, and then the microorganisms in the gut start rotting. "They grow and reproduce and start possessing the body. That's the worst part. The body grows and rot, and bacteria, fungi, insects and other animals appear together to eat the body," Killgrove said.

But this is not what happened to Stuckie in the oak chestnut tree that later became its coffin. Oak chestnut plants contain acrid substances, used to tan animals and compost compartments. The astringent is a natural dehydration agent. This material absorbs moisture and dries the surrounding environment. Environment with low humidity prevents microbial activity, thus fighting decomposition, according to Killgrove.

Stuckie corpses on display in the museum.(Photo: Stuckie).

The position and shape of the oak chestnut tree, with the air blowing upwards, also helps to preserve Stuckie's body."It's like the chimney effect , " Dixon said. The air going up and out of the trunk makes it difficult for the animal to smell. "Therefore, any animal that scavengers will never know the dog is in the trunk , " Dixon explained.

Many other animals are also preserved casually by natural drying agents such as sand, peat, salt or grass. For example, in the 17th and 18th centuries in England, some masons stuffed a cat between the walls of the throne to scare away witches, and the plastered wall preserved the animal, making it unloaded. odor.