Scientists don’t know exactly when the last mammoths roamed the Earth before their extinction. Interestingly, some estimates suggest that populations may have survived until just over 4,000 years ago.
A 50,000-year-old calf. However, the most recent mammoth remains date further back in time. A team of scientists in Russia recently discovered the remains of a mammoth calf that’s 50,000 years old.
“We were all surprised by the exceptional preservation of the mammoth,” Anatoly Nikolayev, rector of the North-Eastern Federal University in Russia, where the remains are being studied, said.
What’s particularly striking about this discovery isn’t just the age of the remains but their excellent state of preservation. Researchers have named the specimen “Yana,” after the river basin where it was found.
More than 200 pounds. Yana was a female mammoth who died at just over 1 year old. Despite its young age, its remains are quite substantial, measuring 4 feet in length and 6.5 feet in height, and weighing around 220 pounds.
Buried in the permafrost. During the summer, local residents discovered Yana’s remains in the Siberian permafrost. Specifically, they found them in the Batagaika crater, which is often referred to as the “gateway to the underworld,” in Eastern Russia.
This unique geological formation isn’t the result of a meteorite impact. Instead, it was caused by the melting permafrost, which is the frozen ground typically found near the Arctic Circle. The ongoing melting of this frozen ground has caused the soil in this region to sink, creating an increasingly large crater.
Locals who found the remains subsequently sent them to the university for study.
Resurrecting the mammoth. In recent years, researchers have discovered similar specimens in the high latitudes of the planet, particularly in Northern Russia. In 2022, scientists in Canada found a well-preserved mammoth calf that lived approximately 30,000 years ago.
These discoveries coincide with ongoing projects to resurrect extinct species like the mammoth. Biotechnology company Colossal is conducting one of the most well-known efforts. The startup seeks to bring back the mammoth by combining its genes with those of contemporary elephants, the closest living relatives of this extinct species.
Finding new remains may help the scientific community better understand the genetics of these ancient animals. However, this is a challenging task because, even when the remains are relatively intact, the DNA often suffers significant deterioration.
Image | April Pethybridge
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