The Archaeologist

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Young Woolly Rhino Perfectly Preserved, Revealed by Melting Permafrost

The amazing discovery passed away at least 20,000 years ago when it was three or four years old.

An absolute unit of a woolly rhino on display at the Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, UK. The new specimen discovered is a juvenile. Image credit: Chemical Engineer

With several of its internal parts, such as its hazel-colored hair, intestines, lumps of fat, and tissues, retained intact for thousands of years by permafrost, it is the best-preserved juvenile woolly rhino ever discovered.

In August 2022, scientists in the far north of Russia's Yakutia region found the Ice Age monster in thawing permafrost. It is believed to be the most well-preserved woolly rhino ever discovered there.

The first person to describe the discovery was Dr. Valery Plotnikov from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), who informed the Siberian Times that the baby rhino was between three and four years old and lived apart from its mother until it died, most likely by drowning.

The animal's [sex] is still a mystery. When it lived, which will be determined by radiocarbon dating, is most likely between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago.

The only baby woolly rhino ever found, Sasha, was found in 2014, not far from the spot where the wonderfully preserved rhino was also just discovered. Sasha, who has remarkable strawberry blond fur, has a 34,000-year-old age estimate.

A "very thick short underfur" can be seen on the recently discovered specimen, according to Dr. Plotnikov. Sasha had assisted scientists in establishing the existence of dense hair on woolly rhinoceroses, which had previously only been implied by cave paintings. The new discovery has strengthened the case that baby woolly rhinos were already perfectly suited to the cold climate.

Sasha the baby woolly rhino found in 2014 in Yakutia lived 34,000 years ago. Image credit: Albert Protopopov, The Siberian Times

The Ice Age artifact is still present in Yakutia at the moment because ice roads must first be created before it can be moved to the area's capital, Yakutsk, where scientists can study it.