The only requirement of this profession is that you must be strong enough and brave enough to complete the task.
Referring to the working time of only 65 days/year , many people may misunderstand that this is a very leisurely job. But if you know the nature of the job, perhaps few people will dare to follow this profession, even though the salary is really high “towering”. In fact, this is the ivory digging of… mammoths – ancient animals that have been extinct since ancient times.
It only takes one mammoth tusk to make a fortune.
As many people know, the mammoth is a giant animal that lived in the ice age. Although their bodies were soon rotting, the ivory still remained quite intact after many centuries. This part of ivory has a very high collectible value, so just digging up one mammoth ivory can make a fortune.
However, this “heirloom” is not easy to find. Mammoth tusks are often buried deep underground, while mammoths used to live on the plains of Siberia, near the Arctic Circle. This place often has extremely low temperatures, even the soil is frozen. The excavation of ivory will certainly face a lot of difficulties. Each year, there are only about 2 warm months here, the right temperature conditions for mammoth ivory mining . So the working time of this profession is only about 65 days/year.
The tusks after “harvesting” will be cleaned, kept moist and transported to the place of sale by speedboat on the river. Previously, a mammoth ivory was sold for 34,000 USD (788 million VND) to a Chinese person.
The tusks that reach the buyer will be carved into statues, handicrafts and sold for an average price of about 7,800 pounds, equivalent to 243 million dong.