December 24th 2024.
Recently, a group of Russian scientists made an exciting discovery in the remote region of Yakutia in Siberia. While exploring the area, they came across the remains of a baby mammoth, which had been remarkably well-preserved for over 50,000 years. The mammoth, a female juvenile, was named Yana and was found by local residents after a permafrost crater had expanded.
The head of the Mammoth Museum at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Maksim Cheprasov, described this find as one of the best ever made in the world. According to him, the baby mammoth was approximately one year old and weighed around 180 kilograms. Through radiocarbon analysis, it was determined that the mammoth lived 50,000 years ago, during a time when the weather conditions were much harsher than they are today.
Cheprasov explained that the harsh weather conditions during that time may have caused mammoth juveniles to grow at a faster rate compared to other animals like horses, bison, and wolves. This was necessary for them to survive the harsh winters. The discovery of Yana's remains sheds light on the unique characteristics of these ancient creatures.
Yana's remains were found in the Batagaika Crater, which has been continuously expanding since the 1960s. Other prehistoric creatures, such as a horse and bison, have also been discovered in the crater. The carcass was found when a portion of the crater collapsed, revealing half of the mammoth. The front part of the carcass fell to the bottom of the hole, while the back half, including the hind legs, was still frozen in the permafrost.
Cheprasov's colleagues later collected the back half of the carcass. This discovery is incredibly rare, as only six complete mammoth skeletons have been found in the world, with five in Russia and one in Canada. The Rector of the North-Eastern Federal University, Anatoly Nikolaev, expressed his excitement about this unique find, not just for their university and Russian science, but for the entire world. The discovery of Yana's remains will provide valuable insights into the life and environment of these magnificent creatures that roamed the earth thousands of years ago.
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