Scientists in Siberia are carrying out tests after discovering the remains of a 50,000-year-old female baby mammoth in thawing permafrost in the Yakutia region of Siberia.
The remains of the mammoth, nicknamed "Yana" after the river in whose basin it was discovered this summer, are the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world.
Scientists have said that the remarkable state of preservation is only possible because the permafrost, or permanently frozen earth, acts as a freezer, preserving soft tissue like muscle and skin.
Many different species of mammoths once roamed parts of the Earth. Some disappeared five million years ago and some, like woolly mammoths, disappeared about 10,000 years ago because of hunting and climate change.
Researchers shocked by 'exceptional preservation'
The carcass was brought to the Federal University of the North East in the regional capital of Yakutsk, the institution said in a statement.
"We were all surprised by the exceptional preservation of the mammoth," rector Anatoly Nikolayev said.
The fact that its head and trunk had survived was particularly unusual, said Maxim
Cherpasov, head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory in the city of Yakutsk.
"As a rule, the part that thaws out first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds. Here, for example, even though the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved," Cherpasov said.
Scientists estimate the specimen was a little over a year old when it perished but are carrying out tests to know better.
Baby mammoth discovered in widening crater in Siberia
The creature, resembling a small elephant with a trunk, was recovered from the Batagaika crater, a huge depression more than 80 meters (260 feet) deep which is widening as a result of climate change.
The carcass, weighing more than 110 kg (240 pounds), was brought to the surface on an improvised stretcher.
Several prehistoric animals — a horse, a bison and a lemming — have been previously discovered near the basin where Yana was excavated.
Experts believe Yana is likely the most well-preserved mammoth discovered to date. Six others were discovered before her — five in Russia and one in Canada.(AFP, Reuters)
