KATHMANDU, Dec 24: On Monday, Russian scientists displayed the remarkably preserved remains of a baby mammoth found in Yakutia, a remote region bordering the Arctic Ocean. Due to the presence of permafrost, this Russian province acts as a perennial freezer, preserving the remains of prehistoric animals.
The 50,000-year-old female mammoth has been named ‘Yana’ after the river where it was discovered this summer. Experts say ‘Yana’ is the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world and is one of seven complete remains ever to have been unearthed.
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The age at death is estimated to be ‘a year or so’, with studies now being carried out to determine the exact age. The body is on display at the Federal University of the North-East in the regional capital Yakutsk, the institution said in a statement.
“The exceptional preservation of the mammoth surprised us all,” said the University’s President Anatoly Nikolayev. Researcher Maxim Cheprasov called it a ‘unique finding.’
The remains weigh 180 kilograms and are 120 centimetres high and 200 centimetres long. They were unearthed near the Batagayka research center. The remains of other prehistoric animals—horses, bison, and lemmings—have also been found there. According to the university, only six mammoth remains had been found in the world before this discovery—five in Russia and one in Canada.
