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In this video-based image, scientists examine the remains of a horse in Yakutia, Russia, on Thursday, August 23, 2018. Russian scientists discovered the carcass of a former foal perfectly preserved in the Siberian permafrost. The fossil discovered in the Yakutia region has preserved skin, hair, hooves and tail. Scientists from the Northeastern Federal University of Russia said on Thursday that the colt would be between 30,000 and 40,000 years old. (AP Photo)
Scientists analyze the perfectly preserved remains of a prehistoric horse in order to clone the animal that has now disappeared.
Recently discovered in the permafrost of the Siberian Yakutia region, the skin, hair, hooves and tail of the carcass are all preserved. The remains are estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 years old.
Experts estimate that the foal was about 2 months old when he died.
Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, was surprised to see the perfect state of discovery. He noted that it is the best preserved ancient foal to date. The Siberian Times reports that the foal is a kind of extinct horse known as the Lena horse, or Equus lenensis.
CAN THE LONG-EXTINGUISHING WOOL MAMMOT BE CLONED?
In this image made from video, scientists examine the foal carcass. (AP Photo)
According to the Siberian Times, Russian and South Korean scientists are currently working to extract cells from the foal that could potentially be used to clone the animal. If an embryo is cloned successfully, a modern horse could be used as a substitute, experts say.
The foal was found in the Batagaika crater, a depression 328 feet deep in the eastern Siberian taiga. The giant crater is known locally as "the door of the underworld".
Other remarkable discoveries have been made in Siberia. In 2013, a 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth carcass was found on Maly Lyakhovsky Island in northern Siberia. The well-preserved remains, combined with advances in genetic research, fueled discussions about the possibility of cloning the extinct creature.
THE WOOL MAMMOLD OF WOOL IN SIBERIA MAY BE NEW SPECIES, RESEARCHERS SAY
Although the possibility of woolly mammoth "extinction" has been in the news in recent years, critics have argued that scientific resources would be better spent on protecting existing species.
Earlier this year, a fossilized woolly mammoth was also found on Kotelny Island in Siberia.
In 2015, the well-preserved remains of long-lost cave lions were also found in Siberia. The discovery was the first time the man had seen the species in more than 10,000 years.
MAMMOTH IN EXTREMELY RARE WOOL FOUND ON THE BEACH
In 2012, an almost complete skeleton of woolly mammoth was discovered in France, to the delight of archaeologists.
Chris Ciaccia, Walt Bonner, and The Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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