During research in the Russian permafrost, an animal dating back at least 20,000 years was discovered, which is more than 80% preserved and completely wild. The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) was a common species throughout Europe and northern Asia.
On average, they measured between 3 and 3.8 metres from head to tail and weighed between 1,800 and 2,700 kilograms as adults. Their closest living genetic relative is the Sumatran rhinoceros, but if you look at them in a photo, it almost looks like a unicorn had had offspring with an American buffalo.
These woolly rhinos had two horns, one large and one smaller. The largest horn measured up to 1.4 metres and the horn itself weighed more than 15 kilograms.
As you can see, I’m learning all this as I go, because I’d only heard of this species once before today. It’s not like it’s one of those animals we were taught about in elementary school.
Well, according to the Siberian Times, archaeologists found a juvenile woolly rhino (about 3-5 years old) “in permafrost deposits next to the Tirekhtyakh River in the Abyіsky District of the Sakha Republic.” I did a quick Google Maps search for that location and it’s in eastern Russia, almost due north of North Korea.
It’s a small brown bear. After all, it’s an animal that’s over 20,000 years old, not a newborn rabbit. But it’s crazy how intact it is:
It is the best-preserved juvenile woolly rhino ever found in Yakutia, and many of its internal organs (including teeth, part of its intestines, a piece of fat and tissue) have remained intact for thousands of years in the permafrost.
The juvenile rhino with thick hazel-coloured fur and the horn, found next to the carcass, was discovered in mid-August in permafrost deposits next to the Tirekhtyakh River in the Abysky District of the Sakha Republic.
The sensational discovery is still in Arctic Yakutia, waiting for ice paths to form so it can be delivered to scientists in the republic’s capital, Yakutsk.
It is the best-preserved juvenile woolly rhino ever found in Yakutia, with many of its internal organs, including its teeth, part of its intestines, a piece of fat and tissues, kept intact for thousands of years in the permafrost.
“The young rhino was three to four years old and was living separately from its mother when it died, probably by drowning,” said Dr Valery Plotnikov of the Academy of Sciences, who was at the scene of the discovery and gave the first description of the find.
‘The sex of the animal is still unknown. We are waiting for radiocarbon analyses to determine when it lived. The most likely date range is between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago.
The rhino has short and very dense fur, so it is very likely that it died in the summer,” Dr Plotnikov said. (via Siberian Times)
It is absolutely bizarre that its last meal was left intact in its stomach. They are awaiting analysis of the rhino’s stomach contents and internal organs to try to determine what exactly it was that it was eating.
Despite their impressive horns, which I would have assumed were for picking monkeys out of trees, the woolly rhino ate mostly grass and brush. Because of their enormous size, they had to eat a LOT of grass to sustain themselves, which wasn’t exactly easy during an ice age.
To read more about this fascinating discovery, you can head over to the Siberian Times, which has plenty of information on this discovery along with some other rare discoveries from this year, including two extinct cave lion cubs.
