MOSCOW (AP) — The remains of a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth discovered through melting permafrost in Russia’s Siberia have been revealed to the public.
The female mammoth, nicknamed Yana, weighs more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and measures 120 centimeters (47 inches) long and 200 centimeters (79 inches) tall.
Scientists believe that Yana was only 1 year old when she died about 50,000 years ago. They have described her remains, one of seven mammoth carcasses recovered worldwide, as the best preserved mammoth body ever found.
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Yana was found among the melting permafrost in the Batagaika crater in Russia’s far eastern region of Yakutia. Known as the “gateway to the underworld,” the crater is 1 kilometer deep and has previously revealed the remains of other ancient animals, including bison and horses.
Yana will now be studied by scientists from Russia’s Northeast Federal University, which has its own mammoth research center and museum.
The university described the find as “exceptional” and said it would provide researchers with new information about how mammoths lived and adapted to their environment.
