A team of researchers in Siberia is examining the remains of a juvenile mammoth that was uncovered in thawing permafrost after being preserved for over 50,000 years, says Reuters.
The discovery of the Mammoth in Siberia is notable for the exceptional condition of the carcass, offering new insights into the species.
The 50,000 Year-old Baby Mammoth
The mammoth, which bears a striking resemblance to a small elephant with a trunk, was found in the Batagaika crater. This enormous depression, over 80 meters (260 feet) deep, is expanding due to the effects of climate change.
Weighing more than 110 kilograms (240 pounds), the carcass was carefully brought to the surface using an improvised stretcher, according to Maxim Cherpasov, head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory in Yakutsk.
“The mammoth was likely a little over a year old when it died,” Cherpasov said. “We hope to confirm this more precisely through additional testing. The preservation of its head and trunk is especially unusual and valuable for study.”
Typically, parts of mammoths exposed first, such as the trunk, are scavenged by modern predators or birds. “In this case,” Cherpasov explained to Reuters, “even though the forelimbs have been partially eaten, the head remains remarkably intact.”
This rare discovery has drawn attention to the Batagaika crater, which continues to reveal ancient specimens as it expands. Researchers are hopeful that further analysis of the young mammoth’s remains will yield important findings about its life and the environment it inhabited.
