Mummified dog found inside a tree trunk 20 years after it got wedged in while ‘chasing a raccoon’

A mummified dog has been found inside a tree trunk 20 years after it got wedged in while “chasing a raccoon”. The hunting dog, aptly named Stuckie, was discovered in a hollow stretch 28ft up by loggers chopping up the chestnut oak in Georgia, US, in 1980. …Instead of sending the tree off to the sawmill, the workers from Kraft Corporation donated it to Forest World – a tree museum in Waycross Georgia. Staff at the museum reckon the dog’s body mummified because an upward draft through the hollow tree created a chimney effect – carrying away the scent of the dead animal, which would usually attract insects and other organisms. The tree also provided relatively dry conditions, whilst the oak’s tannic acid – a natural substance that absorbs moisture and dries out its surroundings – helped to harden the animal skin.