A uniquely preserved carcass of an ancient woolly rhinoceros, discovered by scientists in the thawing Siberian permafrost in the Yakutian wilderness, was delivered to the Siberian city of Yakutsk where scientists can begin detailed studies.
According to the Siberian Times, Russian scientists showed to the media the remnants of a 20,000-year-old woolly rhino with 80 percent of its organic material completely intact, including hair, teeth, horn, and even fat.
The discovery was made in the melting Siberian permafrost of the Yakutian tundra in August 2020. The delivery was delayed until late January 2021 because the road had to freeze over, allowing drivers to navigate the tough terrain.
“The adolescent woolly rhino is approximately 236 centimeters, which is around one meter less than an adult animal”, Dr. Gennady Boeskorov from the Yakutia Academy of Sciences told the Siberian Times, adding that it was 130 centimeters in height, which is around 25 centimeters shorter than a fully-grown adult.
The carcass was discovered along the Tirekhtyakh River in the Abyisk district. Scientists believe the adolescent rhino died after becoming stranded in a swamp while fleeing human hunters, but the specific cause of death has yet to be determined.
“Re-dating of when the woolly rhino lived, I would even narrow the period to between 40,000 and 25,000 thousand years, as most of the frozen animals we found recently were of that era”, said Boeskorov.
“It was Karginsky Interglacial Period when the temperatures were warmer, the soil defrosted and the animals more often drowned in swamps of got into the ice cracks and thus preserved this way. Naturally we will wait for the results of the radiocarbon, this is a very preliminary dating”, said Gennady Boeskorov from Yakutia Academy of Sciences.
The rhino, currently nicknamed Abyisky after the name of the area where it was found was discovered by local resident Alexei Savvin.
This is the second woolly rhinoceros recovered in the Sakha Republic, but the first of its age and condition. This allows scientists to investigate how the rhino grew and evolved, giving light to the organisms.
Another baby woolly rhino was discovered in the same location in 2014. Researchers dated that specimen, which they called Sasha, at 34,000 years old.
Such finds are becoming more common as the permafrost in the Siberian tundra melts. Concerns have been raised about the possibility of reviving ancient bacteria or viruses that have been preserved for millennia.
