About 20-years ago, a dog got stuck inside the tree trunk while chasing an animal and it died. Surprisingly, the air-tight tree trunk helped to keep insects away that the dog was eventually mummified.
In 1980, when a logger was cutting down a tree in Georgia for Kraft Corporation, he discovered the canine. Now the dog has become the main attraction at Forest World tree museum in the US.
In 2002 there was a naming competition in the museum and the mummified dog received the apt name 'Stuckie'. The scientific reason behind its unique mummification process was attributed to the updraft of air inside the trunk that helped to carry the scent away from insects.
Experts believe that the mummified dog has been stuck in the log for at least for 20 years from the day it was found. They stated that Stuckie might have been trapped inside the trunk in the 1960s.
They also believe that the animal whom the dog was chasing, was possibly a raccoon and to catch the animal, that dog had managed to climb the 28-feet tree before getting stuck inside.
While talking about the mummification process the museum said, "A chimney effect occurred in the hollow tree, resulting in an upward draft of air. This caused the scent of the dead animal to be carried away, which otherwise would have attracted insects and other organisms that feed on dead animals."
"The hollow tree also provided relatively dry conditions, and the tannic acid of the oak helped harden the animal's skin," they further added.
Brandy Stevenson, the manager of Forest World said visitors often ask him about the Stuckie and how he could get trapped inside the log. His stock reply would be that the dog was a hound and the prey could have been a coon. The reply remained the same -- 'Poor old thing. I feel so sorry for him'.
Otherwise, mummification remains as interesting as ever from the days of Egyptian pyramids. Last year, a 450-year-old child mummy was found revealing how ancient the 'Hepatitis B' virus evolved over the ages.
