Remains of a baby mammoth that lived 50 thousand years ago were found in Yakutia (9 photos + 1 video)

The Batagay Crater, known as the "Gates of Hell," has uncovered the well-preserved remains of a woolly mammoth. The female, named Yana, lived for more than 50,000 years and apparently suffered a fatal back injury during an ice age. She was about a year old when she died.





Of the seven woolly mammoth calves, six of which have been discovered, Yana stands out for her exceptional preservation. Her trunk, experts say, is "in perfect condition."



The remains were found this summer, but scientists have only just announced them. The mammoth stood 1.2 m at the shoulder and weighed about 180 kg.

"The examination showed that the head is uniquely preserved, as all the organs are preserved. This is very good. The trunk, lips, ears, eye sockets are preserved - they were not even eaten by predators. We have already noticed that the limbs were eaten, possibly by sparrows or small mammals, and the trunk and other parts of the head are uniquely preserved. Unfortunately, the back was damaged, as it appears to have fallen on its back. "The back part was also damaged," said Maxim Cheprasov, head of the laboratory of the mammoth museum of the North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov.







"Batagayka is a scientific station of our university, and this is the fifth unique find. Like the previous finds, they were discovered by accident by local residents. At the right time and at the right hour, local residents got to Batagaika and saw that more than half of the baby mammoth had already melted out of the wall of this failure. Unfortunately, under its own weight and under the weight of the soil, it fragmented. The front part fell to the bottom of this failure, and the back part, consisting of the hind limbs and the pelvic part, was still in the permafrost. Later, they were also collected by our colleagues who were in Batagaika at that time,” Cheprasov added.





Researchers Gavril Novgorodov and Erel Struchkov next to a mammoth carcass, June 13, 2024

Batagayka is the largest permafrost crater in the world, and it grows by 1 million m3 annually. Its melting releases about 5 thousand tons of organic carbon.

Scientists also discovered a perfectly preserved baby horse in this depression. The foal, about 42,170 years old, belonged to the cold-resistant Lena species.



Display of remains in the laboratory of the Mammoth Museum of the North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov in Yakutsk, December 23, 2024