Due to the permafrost melting in Siberia, a very well-preserved woolly rhino has been found, revealing most of its organs are still in place after all this time.
According to the Siberian Times, this Ice Age animal was discovered by melting permafrost in the Yakutia region in the extreme northern region of Russia in August and is considered the best-preserved woolly rhino to date.
The young rhino is considered to only be between 3 or 4 years old over 20,000 to 50,000 years ago. Because of being frozen for thousands of years, the carcass is incredibly preserved and still has some of its hazel-colored hair, soft tissue, intestines, teeth, lumps of fat, and even its horn.
It’s still unknown what sex the mammal is. They are waiting for radiocarbon analyses to estimate when it lived but it’s most likely to be somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago.
According to Dr. Valery Plotnikov, from the Academy of Science of the Republic of Sakha, made the first description of the animal. He believes the young rhino was between 3 and 4 years old and did not live with his mother when it died. Also, more than likely it drowned.
The rhino’s remains were discovered not very far from where Sasha, the world’s only baby woolly rhino was found in 2014. Sasha has striking strawberry blond fur and dates back to 14,000 years ago.
Dr. Plotnikov said the newest rhino had a very thick short underfur. Sasha helped to prove those woolly rhinos were covered in thick hair which was something that could only be determined by cave paintings before now and this newest rhino has added to the evidence that woolly rhinos were fully adapted to the cold climate at a very young age.
To date, the Ice Age rhino is still in Yakutia waiting for roads to form, ice so it can be moved to the region’s capital, Yakutsk, for further studies.
Yakutia is well-known for its ancient animal findings. This has happened due to the warming of the region. The permafrost is thawing especially during the summer months.
Even though it might not be the best news for the environment, it has been an amazing find for scientists studying ancient animals. Over the past few years, they have found ancient wolf puppies “pygmy mammoths, cave lions, birds, and tiny foals along with a strange proto-dog pup.