Researchers in Russia unveiled the remarkably well-preserved remains of a 50,000-year-old female child on Monday mammoth Found in melting permafrost in Yakutia, Siberia.
The remains of the mammoth, nicknamed “Ian” after the river in which it was found this summer, are the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world. Experts say it is one of only seven intact remains ever found.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
It is estimated that Jane was only about one year old when she died, she weighed over 397 pounds and was about 4 feet 200 centimeters tall.
“We were all surprised exceptional preservation mammoth,” said Anatoly Nikolaev, rector of the North-Eastern Federal University, where the carcass is on display.
The mammoth, which resembles a small elephant with a trunk, was found near the Batagayka research station, where the remains of other prehistoric animals – a horse, a bison and a lemming – have also been found.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
This was reported by the head of the Laboratory of the Mammoth Museum named after Lazarov in Yakutsk Maksim Charpasov. Reuters that the fact that the animal's head and torso survived was particularly unusual.
“As a rule, the part that thaws first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds. For example, although the front limbs have already been eaten, the head has been preserved, which is rare,” said Charpasov.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
Before this discovery, only six mammoth carcasses were found in the world – five in Russia and Russia one in Canadainformed the university.
Yakutia is a remote region washed by the Arctic Ocean. Its permafrost acts as a giant freezer that preserves the remains of prehistoric animals.