Russian scientists unveiled an incredibly preserved body of a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth which they nicknamed Yana, frozen in the melting permafrost of eastern Siberia’s Yakutia region.
This was unveiled on December 24, 2024, and is thought to be the most well-preserved mammoth carcass ever to be recovered with analysts and researchers shocked by its state.
Yana was discovered in the summer of 2024 close to the Batagaika crater which is also called the world’s largest permafrost crater. The remains were found by locals when the permafrost wall, at about 130 feet below the surface, started to thaw.
The area has become a hotbed for prehistoric discoveries due to the rapidly melting permafrost from climate change, unearthing relics of the ancient world.
Features of Yana
Age: About 50,000 years old.
Size and Weight: Researchers estimate that Yana is 4 feet tall, 6.5 feet in length, and weighs much more than 397 pounds (around 180 kg).
Condition: The carcass does not have damage to vital parts of the body, such as the head, trunk, ears, and mouth, which is unlikely in such findings. It's usually one of these body parts that, upon release into the open, often faces immediate disintegration or consumption by predators.
Maxim Cheprasov, the head of the University’s Mammoth Museum’s laboratory told Reuters:
"As a rule, the part that thaws out first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds.”
“Even though the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved.”
Anatoly Nikolaev, acting rector of the Mammoth Museum Laboratory at North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk, underlined that this finding is unique and of great value for science because it provides insights into Ice Age fauna.
He commented in a press release: "Yana is definitely the best-preserved in the world," which is important for research related to prehistoric life and environmental conditions in those times.
Cheprasov told the Russian state media outlet, TASS:
“The locals happened to be at Batagaika at the right time and noticed that the mammoth calf had partially thawed from the wall, about [130 feet] below the surface.”
Research implications and context of discoveries in Siberia
Researchers at NEFU are collaborating with geneticists to conduct further analyses on Yana's remains, with hopes of determining more about her lifestyle as her diet and geographical home that might provide a clue into how the mammoths adapted to the Ice Age.
Such findings can substantially build up our knowledge about mammoth development and its ecological context, Cherpasov said.
Trending
The unveiling of Yana adds to the string of large paleontological finds in Siberia. Other finds within the last several years include a mummified saber-toothed cat, estimated to have been about 32,000 years old, and a 44,000-year-old wolf.
These discoveries drive home the point that whereas climate change is reshaping landscapes, it is also presenting ancient ecosystems that had for millennia been locked up in the ice.
Reply
