LYON: The nearly intact skeleton of a woolly mammoth that lived at least 10,000 years ago was sold at auction for more than a half million euros on Saturday in the southeastern French city of Lyon.

The giant skeleton — mounted in a forward walking position with its enormous curved tusks with tones of caramel and ivory facing slightly downward — was bought by the chief executive of a French waterproofing company whose logo is of the prehistoric mammal.

“We are going to display it in the lobby of our firm,” said Pierre-Etienne Bindschedler, the CEO of Soprema. “I think we have enough room”.

Bindschedler bought the piece for 548,250 euros ($645,000) at the Aguttes auction house.

One of the largest specimens ever found, the mammoth skeleton measures a little over three metres (10 feet) in height and was estimated to sell for at least 450,000 euros because of its “fine condition”, remarkable because it retained 80 percent of its original bones. Experts believe the animal weighed about 1,400 kilos (3,000 pounds). The skeleton, unearthed about 10 years ago in northwest Siberia, belonged to a hunter who had preserved the remains at his home.

Woolly mammoths were once among the most common herbivores in North America and Siberia, but came under threat from increased hunting pressure and a warming climate.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2017