Scientists call mammoth cub from Yakutia a unique find for all mankind

The mammoth remains found in Yakutia are unique for all mankind, and a whole range of studies will be conducted with them. This was told to "Izvestia" on December 23 by employees of the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) named after M.K. Ammosov.

"This is a world sensation, it is a unique find for all mankind, the seventh find. Before that, five were made in Russia, one in Canada, and here is the seventh," said Maxim Cheprasov, head of the laboratory of the Mammoth Museum of the NEFU.

He said that the mammoth was accidentally discovered by local residents who happened to be in the right place at the right time and saw that the remains had almost completely melted out of the permafrost. The front part of the body had fallen to the bottom of the cavity, and the back part - limbs and pelvic bones - was still in the permafrost. It was local residents who made a stretcher out of improvised means and brought their find weighing 110 kilograms to the village of Batagai in Verkhoyanskiy ulus of Yakutia, placed it in a glacier and reported it to the university. Cheprasov pointed out that the mammoth's ears, trunk, mouth cavity and eye sockets were very well preserved.

"The complex of research includes anatomo-physiological study, microbiological, genetic, paleontological research," said Gavril Novgorodov, a researcher at the laboratory of the Mammoth Museum of SVFU.

He pointed out that the mammoth cub, which was named Yana, has a withers height of 1 m 40 cm, but the ears are small. The previously found baby mammoth, named Masha, has big ears. It is still unclear what caused such differences, Novgorodov noted. In addition, Masha has milk tusks, while Yana has not yet erupted. All this is yet to be studied by experts.

The front part of the mammoth's body is still stored behind glass in a sealed room with air filtration. This is a precautionary measure, because scientists assume that when thawing the find in the air can get ancient unknown viruses.

About the remains of a mammoth found in Yakutia in the University reported earlier in the day. The animal was given the name Yana by the name of the river that flows near the place where the carcass was found. The length of the cub's body is no more than 2 meters. The NEFU said that they plan to carry out long-term research, hoping to find whole cell nuclei, with the help of which it will be possible to clone a mammoth. Korean scientists will also take part in this work.