Exciting paleontological discovery

Earlier this summer, gold miners in Siberia stumbled upon a remarkable find: the mummified remains of a woolly rhinoceros, complete with soft tissues and an intact horn! This discovery, made in the Oymyakonsky District of Russia, promises to deepen our understanding of these impressive Ice Age giants.

Assoc Prof Damien Fordham, a global change ecologist at the University of Adelaide and study co-author says, “there’s been this debate for a long time of what killed the megafauna.” Researchers have often pointed to either climate change or human hunting. “It’s not one or the other…both were playing out on the landscape.” 

The woolly rhinoceros, a contemporary of the woolly mammoth, roamed the Earth about 10,000 years ago. Standing 6 feet tall and 16 feet long, these formidable herbivores were known for their distinctive double horns, with the front one sometimes extending over three feet.

This find, reported by North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU), provides an unprecedented glimpse into the anatomy and environment of these prehistoric creatures. Researchers at NEFU, in collaboration with the Mammoth Museum, are eager to analyse the preserved remains to explore more about their life and the Ice Age climate.

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