A Frozen Wonder: Baby Mammoth Unearthed in Siberia

In the Siberian region of Yakutia, locals made an amazing discovery in June—a perfectly preserved baby mammoth carcass. The mammoth, named Yana, was found in the Batagaika Crater after a part of it collapsed. Maksim Cheprasov, a scientist from the Mammoth Museum at the North-Eastern Federal University, explained that Yana was around one year old and weighed about 180 kilograms when she died over 50, 000 years ago. The baby mammoth's remains are considered one of the best-preserved ever found, offering valuable insights into the lives of these ancient creatures. Researchers believe that mammoths grew faster than modern-day horses, bison, and wolves due to the harsh conditions they faced. This rapid growth helped them survive the tough winters.The Batagaika Crater, which has been expanding since the 1960s, has revealed other prehistoric finds like horses and bison. This makes it a treasure trove of historical information. Yana's carcass was partially buried, with her front part falling into the hole and her back half still in the permafrost. Before Yana, only six complete mammoth skeletons had been found worldwide, with five in Russia and one in Canada. Anatoly Nikolaev, the Rector of the North-Eastern Federal University, stressed the significance of this discovery. He said it's a unique find not just for the university and Russian science, but for the entire world.