This is a big, bad — and old — wolf.
Researchers are examining a 44,000-year-old mummified wolf in Russia, the first known predator found from that time period.
“This is the world’s first discovery of the late Pleistocene era.” [time period 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago] Albert Protopopov, head of the department for the study of mammoths at the Yakutia Academy of Sciences, said: According to a report.
The well-preserved wolf carcass was found by chance in thick permafrost in the northeastern Yakutia region by residents in 2021, but scientists have only had the opportunity to dissect the animal’s body now.
“Usually herbivores die, get stuck in swamps, freeze and reach us whole. This is the first time a large carnivore has been found,” Protopopov said.
Researchers from the University of North-Eastern Russia in Yakutsk conducted an autopsy and found that the wolf’s teeth, most of its fur, and some of its organs remained intact.
The team hopes to learn more about this ancient creature’s genetics, lifestyle, diet, and diseases.
“It’s shocking, actually,” said Robert Losey, an anthropologist at the University of Alberta. He told Business Insider.
“It is the only adult Pleistocene wolf ever found, so that in itself is quite remarkable and unique.”
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