A scientist performs an autopsy of the remains of a puppy, which died 12,460 years ago and was discovered in Russia's northern Yakutia, at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk
Phys.org has a story about frozen ice age puppies found in Russia. The puppies were found in Yakutia and date to 12,460 year before present. The first puppy was found in 2011. The second was found last year just a small distance away.
The hunters searching for mammoth tusks were drawn to the steep riverbank by a deposit of ancient bones. To their astonishment, they discovered an Ice Age puppy's snout peeking out from the permafrost.
Five years later, a pair of puppies perfectly preserved in Russia's far northeast region of Yakutia and dating back 12,460 years has mobilised scientists across the world.
"To find a carnivorous mammal intact with skin, fur and internal organs—this has never happened before in history," said Sergei Fyodorov, head of exhibitions at the Mammoth Museum of the North-Eastern Federal University in the regional capital of Yakutsk.
And the discovery could contribute to the lively scientific debate over the origin of domesticated dogs.
When the hunters stumbled on the first frozen pup in 2011, they alerted Fyodorov who immediately flew out to the remote Arctic tundra, about 4,700 kilometres (2,900 miles) from Moscow and only 130 kilometres from the Laptev Sea, which borders the Arctic Ocean.
Last year he returned for a more thorough look and found the second puppy close to the same spot, farther down the slope. Both had died when they were about three months old.
They most likely come from the same litter, said Fyodorov.
