Meet “Stuckie” — The Mummified Dog Who Has Been Stuck In A Tree For Over 50 Years20 years after it was wedged in when “chasing a raccoon” a Mummified dog was discovered inside a tree trunk.

The hunting dog, appropriately called Stuckie, was found by loggers chopping up the chestnut oak in Georgia, US, in a hollow stretch 28ft up in 1980.

Stuckie, as the dog is affectionately known now, still stuck in his tree more than 50 years later.Experts estimated that before having himself stuck in the gap about 20 years ago, he had possibly been playing some small game.

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.

The low-moisture environment stopped the microbial activity, which meant no decay and Stuckie’s body was preserved in a remarkably good condition.

Brandy Stevenson, Forest World’s manager, told Roadside America: “People always ask me, ‘How did he get in there?’ And I always say, ‘Well, he was a hound dog. Maybe he was after a raccoon.’

“And then they’ll say, ‘Poor old thing. I feel so sorry for him.’”

Stuckie, who got his name after a 2002 naming contest, is available to see at the  Southern Forest World Museum and Environmental Center in Waycross, Georgia.