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The most well-preserved baby woolly mammoth in the world

December, 25, 2024-03:42

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The most well-preserved baby woolly mammoth in the world

The most well-preserved baby woolly mammoth in the world has been discovered after 50,000 years in a location referred to as the 'Mouth of Hell'. Named Yana, this mammoth lived over 50,000 years ago and appears to have sustained a fatal back injury during the Ice Age. She was approximately one year old at the time of her death. Yana was found preserved in the permafrost of the Batagai mega slump, a rapidly expanding thermokarst depression located in the Yakutia region of Russia, which is also known as the Gateway to the Underworld and can be seen from space.

Among the seven baby woolly mammoths discovered globally—six of which were found in Russia—Yana stands out as the most intact specimen, with her trunk distinctly visible and preserved in a unique manner. The remarkable remains were uncovered this summer, but the announcement was made recently by Russian scientists. At the withers, the mammoth measured 4 feet tall and weighed approximately 180 kilograms, equivalent to 28 stone or nearly 400 pounds.
While the limbs of the extinct creature showed signs of being pecked at by ancient sparrows or small mammals, all internal organs remain intact.

Maxim Cheprasov, the head of the Mammoth Museum laboratory at North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, stated, "The examination revealed that the head is uniquely preserved, along with all the organs. This is very promising. The trunk, lips, ears, and eye sockets are intact and were not consumed by predators." He further noted, "We have observed that the limbs were gnawed upon, likely by sparrows or small mammals, but the trunk and other parts of the head are exceptionally preserved. Unfortunately, the back was damaged, as it seems to have fallen onto its back." Local explorers who visited the crater reported that more than half of the baby mammoth had already melted out of the wall of the sinkhole. The rear portion of the animal was retrieved separately and is also preserved, although it was not displayed during the initial announcement of the find. Comprehensive tests on the baby mammoth are scheduled for next year.