Russia: the remains of a woolly rhino found …

The remains well preserved of a woolly rhinoceros, belonging to an extinct species, They were found in the Republic of Sakha, in the Far East of Russia. The body was exposed as a result of thawing the frozen ground and it is estimated to have remained intact for over 20 thousand years.

Russian Sakha Republic Academy of Sciences researcher Valeri Plotnikov said the remains were originally found last August in the Abysky region by a local resident near a river.

“Thanks to the permanently frozen layer of soil, all limbs, part of the internal organs and the horn of the extinct rhino have been preservedPlotnikov explained. At this time, the sex of the specimen is unknown, and it is believed to have lived between 20,000 and 50,000 years, a period that coincides with the Ice Age.

“The back of the body contains soft tissue, possibly sexual organs and part of the intestines. This allows the study of the feces, which would facilitate the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment of this period”, explains the researcher. He also indicated that “it is very rare to find well-preserved horns, as they decompose quite quickly.”

According to the analyzes carried out on one of the teeth, scientists estimate the rhino was between 3 and 4 years old when it died. They also suggest that he is not hungry because he was a hardy animal, and that he would have perished after falling into a ravine or a swamp. Its wool, quite thick and monochromatic, has also been kept in good condition.

Rhino Abyiski will be transferred in January to Yakutsk, capital of the Republic of Sakha, to continue investigations and will then be taken to Sweden.