Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois - ESCONI

Happy Thanksgiving!

Russians get look at 40,000-year-old mammoth

 

A very well preserved 40,000 year old mammoth went on display in Moscow.  The young wooly mammoth's carcass was in excellent condition when it was pulled out of the permafrost.  It was discovered in Yakutia in 2010.  And, has been named Yuka.

Albert Protopopov, a researcher from Yakutia, said Yuka’s carcass showed signs that humans hunted for mammoths during the Ice Age. The mammoth, between 6 and 9 years old when it died, also had injuries from a fight with another predator, he said.

Yuka was pulled out of permafrost in spectacular condition, its soft tissue and reddish fur well preserved. Even most of its brain is intact, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study it.

Up to 13 feet tall and 10 tons in weight, mammoths once ranged from Russia and northern China to Europe and most of North America. They were driven to extinction by humans and a changing climate around 10,000 years ago. The Asian elephant is the most closely related animal alive today.

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