Russian Scientists Present 50,000-Year-Old Baby Mammoth Remains

Russian scientists have presented the remains of a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth, which was discovered within thawing permafrost in Siberia’s remote Yakutia region over the summer. They state that “Yana,” named after the river basin of her discovery, represents the world’s most well-preserved mammoth carcass. Yana, with a weight exceeding 100kg (15st 10lb) and dimensions of 120cm (4ft) in height and 200cm in length, is estimated to have been approximately one year old at the time of her death. Prior to this finding, only six comparable discoveries had been made globally: five in Russia and one in Canada. Local residents located Yana within the Batagaika crater, which is recognized as the world’s largest permafrost (ground that is permanently frozen) crater. The head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory stated that the residents “were in the right place at the right time.” Maxim Cherpasov explained that “They saw that the mammoth had almost completely thawed out” and subsequently opted to construct a makeshift stretcher to bring the mammoth to the surface. He informed the Reuters news agency that “As a rule, the part that thaws out first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds.” He further noted that “even though the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved.” Gavril Novgorodov, a researcher at the museum, informed Reuters that the mammoth “probably got trapped” in a swamp, and was “thus preserved for several tens of thousands of years.” Yana is currently undergoing study at the North-Eastern Federal University, located in Yakutsk, the region’s capital. Scientists are presently performing tests to confirm the time of its death. This is not the sole prehistoric discovery to emerge from Russia’s vast permafrost in recent years, amidst the thawing of long-frozen ground attributed to climate change. Just last month, scientists in the same region displayed the remains of a partial, mummified sabre-tooth cat, estimated to be just under 32,000 years old. Additionally, earlier this year, the remains of a 44,000-year-old wolf were also brought to light.