First ever baby woolly rhino unearthed
27.02.2015 18:01
The remains of a baby woolly rhinoceros, which still has its fleece, has been discovered in the ice of Siberia.
Named Sasha, the extinct creature - which must be at least 10,000 years old and is the first juvenile woolly rhino to be found - was well preserved by permafrost and experts are hopeful of extracting its DNA.
A local hunter found the infant woolly rhino in a ravine by a stream in Russia's largest and coldest region, the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, in September.
Initially, he thought the carcass was a reindeer, until he saw the horn growths and realised he had made the historic discovery of the world's first baby woolly rhino.
‘The age of the calf when it died has yet to be established, but scientists estimate it to be about 18 months old,’ The Siberian Times reported.
‘Precise tests will be conducted to ascertain when Sasha died, with the results likely in six months.
‘The creature's wool is well preserved, and an ear, one eye, its nostrils, and mouth are clearly visible.
‘The remnants of two horns were found on the carcass.’
Albert Protopopov, Head of the Mammoth Fauna Department, of the Sakha Republic Academy of Science, said: ‘The find is absolutely unique.
‘We can count a number of adult woolly rhinos found around the world on fingers of one hand. A baby rhino was never found before.
‘There was only one case in the 21st century when we found a frozen carcass of a grown up woolly rhino in Yakutia. It was in 2007 in Kolyma.
‘In the 20th century there were carcasses of woolly mammoths found in Verkhoyansky and Vilyuisky districts, but they were mummified and therefore not usable for studies.’
(dailymail.co.uk)
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