30,000 years later, we have found a mammoth calf perfectly preserved by permafrost

A day that would have been ordinary at a gold mine in Canada’s Yukon Territory has recently turned into an extraordinary one. The cause, the discovery in the excavation area of ​​the frozen remains of a mammoth calf that lived more than 30,000 years ago. This is the first discovery of this type made in the American continent.

The find.
A miner at a mine located in the traditional territory of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, a Native American group living in Canada, found the body buried in the permafrost he was digging in. Permafrost, frozen ground, can remain in this state for thousands of years, which makes it possible to find perfectly preserved specimens of animals that became extinct 4,000 years ago.

Once the discovery was reported from the mine, a group made up of researchers and members of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin indigenous nation evaluated the find. The animal was named ‘Nun cho ga’, ‘big baby animal’ in the local language, Hän.

First American mammoth.
This is the first time that a well-preserved mammoth has been found on the American continent, and it is only the second such discovery in the world after Lyuba, another baby mammoth found in 2007 in Siberia.

The Yukon Territory is no stranger to finding smaller animals preserved in the frigid subsoil. In 2016, for example, a 50,000-year-old caribou calf was discovered alongside a wolf pup.

Siberia is the other great source of such finds. In addition to Lyuba, the Asian region has also given us the best preserved remains of a cave lion.

Fossils and mummies.
When we think of extinct animals we tend to go to extremes and either think of fossils of dinosaurs and other animals that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago or think of those that have become extinct in recent years or in danger of doing so.

Obtaining samples of the muscle tissue and skin of these animals can give us a lot of information not only about the mammoths, but about the time in which they lived. These findings are therefore of enormous value.

Resurrect lost species.
These findings may reopen the debate on whether it is convenient to recover these animals, since fossilization wreaks havoc on the “living tissue” of animals. On the other hand, freezing achieves that the tissues reach our days without major alterations, opening the door to cloning.

But as was well explained in the first film of the Jurassic Park saga, in addition to asking if it is possible, it is worth asking if it is convenient. Earth’s ecosystems have changed a lot since the last ice age. These are in a new balance and the introduction of “new” species can alter it in a way not unlike the introduction of invasive species.

In this particular case, moreover, the fact that the discovery was made on land belonging to one of the native tribes of Canada makes this perspective difficult, since it is this native people that is the custodian of the remains of this animal that died more than 30 millennia. Any decision about these remains goes through this group.

Permafrost and climate change.
If we look at the data, it is possible that these types of findings are no longer something moderately frequent. The polar areas of Eurasia and North America are experiencing permafrost loss that has been going on for years. The ground thaws.

This will likely have ecological and environmental implications, but could also mean that any prehistoric animals trapped in these soils would no longer be protected by the frigid conditions and could decompose and be lost.

It is impossible to know how many remains there are in this situation throughout the millions of square kilometers that occupy the frozen areas of Siberia and northern Canada. But most likely, we are facing a lost opportunity to learn what the world was like when homo sapiens had not even settled in Europe. The worst thing is that this may not be the worst of problems.

Image | April Pethybridge