Journey to the Past: Astonishing Discovery of an Extraordinarily Preserved Mammoth in a Prehistoric Ice Hole in Siberia

Russian scientists have recovered the almost complete remains of a woolly mammoth in Russia. The remains of the Siberian mammoth are so well preserved that they still have meat and hair. These remains are up to 10,000 years old and could play an important role in the international race to recreate prehistoric animals in laboratories. The remains of a prehistoric creature were found not far from the village of Seyakha. The find was first discovered by members of a local indigenous community in Lake Pechenelava, on the Yamal Peninsula. Siberia has been unusually warm this summer with massive wildfires in many areas of this remote and vast region. However, the warm climate also allowed the remains of the Siberian mammoth to be released from the permafrost.

The remains of a 10,000-year-old Siberian mammoth are almost perfect

Experts from the Scientific Center for Arctic Studies arrived at the place where the remains of the mammoth were found and began an investigation. They managed to recover 90% of the mammoth’s remains, making it a spectacular discovery. The Daily Mail reports that the animal will be named “Tadibe after its finder Konstantin Tadibe, a reindeer herder who lives near the lake where the mammoth was found.”

Initial investigations have revealed that the mammoth was a 10-foot-tall adolescent male that died about 10,000 years ago. Evgenia Khozyainova, who participated in the study, said: “We have a well-preserved front and back leg, with tendons, soft tissues and pieces of skin,” according to the Daily Mail. The creature’s sacrum, some vertebrae and most of its tail, complete with bits of skin and muscles. Archaeologist Andrey Gusev told The Siberian Times that “we managed to extract part of the skeleton, another part is still under water and is clay.”

Evidence suggests the mammoth died of natural causes

The mammoth remains removed from the lake’s watery shore were safely stored in a special refrigeration unit. Unfortunately, the animal’s brain was not preserved, which was a disappointment. The Siberian Times states that “only one brain found in 2014 in Yakutia in a woolly mammoth named Yuka has been preserved so far.” Furthermore, no tusks were recovered in the recent discovery. They could have been taken by humans or simply fallen down.

There is no evidence to suggest that the mammoth was killed by prehistoric hunters. Although the marks on the bones indicate that at some point the remains of the prehistoric creature were looted. Dr. Pavel Kosintsev speculates that “the mammoth may have become trapped in an ice crevice and been unable to escape,” the Daily Mail reports.

This ancient mammoth’s soft tissues are perfect for cloning

It is extremely rare to find so many bones from the same animal. A fossilized excrement, known as a coprolite, was also found. The Daily Mail quotes Dmitry Frolov of the Arctic Research Center as saying that “the coprolite was left by this same mammoth.” This discovery may provide scientists with considerable detail about the feeding habits of the extinct mammoth.

However, this surprising find is particularly important because it provides superbly preserved dead mammoth DNA that can be used in cloning experiments. Teams from Russia, the United States, Japan and South Korea are desperately trying to clone ancient animals in test tubes. The soft tissue found at Tadibe could provide the DNA key for researchers to bring woolly mammoths back to life, just like in the movie Jurassic Park . The Russian federal government has funded a laboratory in Siberia to help them win the race to clone a mammoth, which has become a matter of national prestige.

mammoth cemetery

Mammoths once roamed much of Eurasia. They are closely related to modern elephants, but were twice the size. They had remarkable fangs and trunks that could pick up even small objects. These creatures had long wool coats that allowed them to survive in the Arctic and were herbivores. Mammoths were hunted by man and it is believed that overhunting along with climate change contributed to the extinction of these tundra giants about 4,000 years ago.

The world’s most complete and best-preserved mammoth, nicknamed Lyuba, was also discovered on the Yamal Peninsula in 2007. Experts hope the lake and its surroundings will reveal many more ancient remains. They believe that, like Tadibe, other woolly elephants died here and were preserved forever in the permafrost. There could be a mammoth graveyard hidden among the silt and water, waiting to be found.