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The municipality describes the mammoth as “the most complete mummified mammoth find ever”. According to BBC News it’s only the second time a frozen woolly mammoth has been found. The first specimen was excavated in Siberia in 2007. That find was at least 42,000 years old.
Special ancient finds are often made in Yukon, but paleontologists are extra enthusiastic this time because pieces of skin and hair have also been found.
The woolly mammoth female would have been about the same size as her companion in Siberia and, according to experts, was about a month old when she died. The animal would have gotten stuck in a mud puddle. The mammoth has been given the name Nun cho ga, which means “big baby animal” according to locals in Yukon.
Paleontologist Grant Zazula, who is more likely to dig for fossils in Yukon, describes the woolly mammoth as “one of the most extraordinary mummified Ice Age finds in the world.” Zazula calls the find “a dream come true”.
