YAKUTSK, December 23. /TASS/. The remains of a mammoth calf, discovered this year in Batagaika, Yakutia's Verkhoyansky District in the Russian Far East, have been displayed at the Mammoth Museum of the North-Eastern Federal University, a TASS correspondent reports.
"The condition of this specimen is among the best ever uncovered globally, excluding fragmented mammoth remains. <...> Worldwide, only six well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been found: five in Russia and one in Canada. The last such discovery in Russia was the Yuka mammoth calf, found in 2010. This June, another extraordinarily well-preserved mammoth calf was discovered at Batagaika," the University's Mammoth Museum's head of the laboratory, Maxim Cheprasov, said.
The mammoth calf is female, with a shoulder height of 120 cm and a total weight of approximately 180 kg. Radiocarbon dating estimates its geological age to be 50,000 years. "To verify this age, we plan to conduct cross-dating in another laboratory next year. We cannot yet determine its exact age precisely, but we estimate it to be around a year old or slightly older. It is believed that mammoths grew faster than modern young animals like foals, bison calves, and wolf pups due to the harsh environmental conditions, which required them to reach significant size before facing severe winters," Cheprasov explained.
The discovery was made by local residents of the village of Batagai. "The locals happened to be at Batagaika at the right time and noticed that the mammoth calf had partially thawed from the wall, about 40 meters below the surface. Unfortunately, due to its weight and the soil collapsing on it, the carcass fragmented. The front part fell to the bottom of the failure, while the back part, including hind legs and the pelvic area, remained in permafrost and was later retrieved by our colleagues working in Batagai at the time," Cheprasov described.
Genetic studies have begun, with comprehensive research planned for spring 2025. In the near future, a study program involving scientists from various Russian regions will be prepared. Rector of the North-Eastern Federal University Anatoly Nikolaev emphasized the importance of this find, calling it unparalleled for the university and both Russian and global science. "Discoveries like this don’t happen every year; they are purely a matter of chance and luck. <...> If no one had come across it within a day, two days, or even a week, we would not have seen such a well-preserved mammoth calf. This find is not only significant for our university and Russian science but also for the global scientific community," said Nikolaev.
About Batagaika
Batagaika is located about seven kilometers from the district center, the village of Batagay. It serves as a scientific station for NEFU. The pit began growing in the 1960s-1970s, and over half a century has widened to 800 meters. The length is more than one kilometer, and the depth reaches 100 meters. The pit’s edges are unstable, as the pit continues to expand. Other discoveries have also been made in Batagaika, including the Verkhoyansk horse (2009), the Batagai bison (2009), the mummified hoofed lemming (2012), and the Batagai foal Fuji (2018).