50,000-year-old baby mammoth remains go on display in Russia
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The 50,000-year-old female, nicknamed Yana, is one of only seven whole remains discovered in world. The 50,000-year-old remains of a baby mammoth have gone on display in Russia as scientists carry out research on the animal. The 110kg creature, resembling a small elephant, was found at the bottom of a 260ft deep crater in the permafrost-covered region of Yakutia in Siberia earlier this year.
![[The baby mammoth is one of the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/23/15/SEI234111821.jpg)
The carcass was brought to the surface on an improvised stretcher, said Maxim Cherpasov, head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory. He said it was the best-preserved mammoth carcass in the world and is one of only seven whole remains ever found, according to experts.
![[Scientists inspect the 50,000-year-old baby mammoth carcass in Siberia]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/23/15/SEI234124735.jpg)
Studies are now being carried out to work out her exact age at death, estimated at “one year old or a bit more”. “As a rule, the part that thaws out first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds. Here, for example, even though the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved,” Mr Cherpasov said.
![[The carcass was brought to the surface on an improvised stretcher and is now undergoing tests by researchers]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/23/15/SEI234110968.jpg)
It is the latest of a series of spectacular discoveries in the Russian permafrost which is melting amid climate change. Last month, scientists in the same vast northeastern region - known as Sakha or Yakutia - showed off the 32,000-year-old remains of a tiny sabre-toothed cat cub, while earlier this year a 44,000-year-old wolf carcass was uncovered.
