<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > scientists believe it is the best-preserved specimen of juvenile hairy rhinoceros they have ever found. </h1>
The specimen of the Russian Academy of Sciences was unveiled in August 2020 and has not yet been released for analysis.
Russian researchers have just announced the discovery of a well-preserved long-haired rhino in August 2020. According to the Siberian Times, the specimen is between 20,000 and 50,000 years old and was found in such a pristine state that most of its internal organs remain intact. Some say it is the best-preserved corpse of its kind.
The frozen Siberian tundra offers perfect conditions for preserving ice age relics like these, which climate change has caused them to melt in large quantities to the surface. In recent years, experts in Yakutia, Siberia, have unearthed everything from ancient lion cubs and bison to horses and mammoths, according to Science Letters.
Scientists estimate that about 80 percent of this latest finding went unscathed. In fact, all of its limbs, fur and most of its teeth are intact. Scientists even believe they can determine the creature's last meal.
Dr Valery Plotnikov of the Yakutia Academy of Sciences said: "This little rhinoceros was three to four years old, lived separately from its mother when it died, and most likely drowned. "The gender of the animal is still unknown ... Rhinos have very thick, short undercollections that are likely to die in the summer. ”
Footage of a long-haired rhinoceros found in Yakutia in August 2020.
The specimen was unearthed in 2014 not far from the discovery of Sasha, the world's only long-haired rhinoceros. Sasha is believed to be about 34,000 years old and about 7 months old at the time of his death.
Sasha's discovery first showed scientists that even juvenile long-haired rhinos have fur, and this latest discovery only reinforces the theory.
"We learned that long-haired rhinos are covered with very thick hairs," said Dr. Plotnikov of Sasha. "Previously, we could only judge this by the petroglyphs found in France. Now, judging by the thick coat and bottom hair, we can conclude that rhinos have been fully adapted to the cold climate from a very young age. ”
For now, the researchers have been unable to analyze the latest specimen further until a steady ice path has formed for them to return to Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia.
For thousands of years, most of the animal's teeth, fur and internal organs have been kept intact under the Siberian permafrost.
Spotting rhinos in the lower tier of the Tirkhtiah River is not an easy task, as traffic through the vast and remote territory of Yakutia is very dangerous. Even in summer, many areas can only be reached by plane or boat.
In the winter, however, a fairly practical network of ice roads is formed, allowing people to cross the tundra.
Although these paths must be waited for to form before the specimens can be properly evaluated, Dr. Plotnikov and his team have gathered a lot from the discoveries. For example, the horns of this animal suggest that this particular woolly rhinoceros forages for a living. The fact that animals' internal organs remain intact will also show scientists a lot about how this prehistoric creature lived.
"There is soft tissue on the back of the corpse, possibly the genitals and part of the intestine," Dr. Plotnikov said. "This made it possible to study excrement and at the same time it would allow us to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of that period."
The Russian Academy of Sciences is waiting for the formation of an annual ice road in Yakutia in order to bring specimens to Yakutsk before being shipped to Sweden.
For those looking for ice age animals, Yakutia is a very fertile place. In recent years, researchers have discovered ancient wolf cubs, "pygmy" mammoths, birds, ponies, and more. Just this past summer, an ice age wolf cub was found with the remains of what may have been the last furry rhinoceros on earth in its stomach.
As for the latest long-haired rhino, it will eventually be shipped to Sweden, where researchers have been working to sequence the genomes of several prehistoric rhinos.