Researchers in Russia on Monday discovered the remarkably well-preserved remains of a 50,000-year-old female baby mammoth found in thawing permafrost in the Yakutia region of Siberia.
The remains of the mammoth – nicknamed “Yana” after the river in whose basin it was discovered this summer – are the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world. Experts say it is one of only seven complete remains ever found.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
Yana is estimated to have been just one year old when she died, weighing more than 397 pounds and standing about 4 feet 200 centimeters long.
“We were all surprised exceptional preservation mammoth,” said Anatoly Nikolayev, 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 Batagaika research station, where the remains of other prehistoric animals – horses, bison and lemmings – have also been found.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
Maxim Cherpasov, head of the Laboratory of the Lazarev Museum of Mammoths in the city of Yakutsk, told Reuters that the fact that the head and torso of the animal survived is particularly unusual.
“As a rule, the part that melts first, especially the carcass, is often eaten by modern predators or birds. Here, for example, although the front limbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved,” Cherpasov said.
Roman Kutukov / REUTERS
Before this discovery, only six mammoth carcasses were found in the world – five in Russia and one in Canadathe university announced.
Yakutia is a remote region bordering the Arctic Ocean. Its permafrost acts like a giant freezer that preserves the remains of prehistoric animals.











