Gold Hunters Found Mummified Remains of Extinct Monster

Gold miners in the Sakha Republic of Siberia, Russia, stumbled upon the perfectly preserved mummy of an extinct woolly rhinoceros, including a remarkably well-preserved horn and even some remaining soft tissue. They came across the body while excavating the site of a future quarry.

After the remarkable discovery, scientists from Russia's North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) arrived in the area and removed the animal's horn. Live ScienceNEFU experts plan to exhume the rest of the mummified woolly rhino in the coming months.

Scientists stress that the discovery of preserved soft tissue is extremely rare and will provide researchers with a unique insight into the woolly rhino's daily life and environment at the time of its death.

Conditions in Siberia are particularly favorable for preservation, as the often frigid weather naturally mummifies the remains, drying out the soft tissues and creating a sort of “time capsule” for those lucky enough to exhume them.

“This is a truly unique find that will allow us to study the history, ancient fauna, climate and geological conditions of the region more deeply,” NEFU Director Anatoly Nikolaev said in a statement.

Senior researcher and laboratory head of NEFU Mammoth Museum Maxim Cheprasov confirmed that the find is a first for his museum and NEFU. “There was no such rare find in the Mammoth Museum collection until now,” Cheprasov said. “This is the first such find in the modern history of NEFU.”

Cheprasov added that this is only the fifth time in history that a woolly rhinoceros has been found with intact soft tissue. He and other researchers will exhume the rest of the creature's remains after examining its horn, which has already provided them with an important key fact.

“According to morphological parameters, it belonged to a mature individual,” Cheprasov explained. “The exact biological age and sex of the animal will be determined after a thorough examination of the carcass itself.”

Woolly rhinos first appeared in northern Eurasia around 300,000 years ago. They disappeared when the ice age ended until only a small number remained in Siberia. They eventually became extinct around 10,000 years ago due to human activities and climate change.