On Tuesday, June 21, an almost complete, mummified baby woolly mammoth was found in the Klondike gold fields of the Traditional Territory of Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, Canada. The female was named Nun cho ga, which in Hän means "big animal".
Eureka Creek miners discovered a frozen woolly mammoth while digging in permafrost. This is an important discovery for the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin community and the Yukon Government. There are famous fossils of animals from the Ice Age in the vicinity, but mummified remains with skin and hair are found extremely rarely. Nun cho ga is the most complete mummified mammoth found in North America to date. Perfectly preserved - with skin on which you can even see hair.
It is estimated that the body froze during the Ice Age more than 30,000 years ago
- Being an Ice Age palaeontologist, one of my greatest dreams in my life was to come face to face with a real woolly mammoth. Today it has come true. Nun cho ga is beautiful and is one of the most amazing Ice Age mummified animals ever discovered in the world. I can't wait to get to know her better - said Dr. Grant Zazul after the discovery.
Best preserved specimen
It is estimated that the body froze during the Ice Age more than 30,000 years ago. Probably the female roamed the Yukon with other animals.
The female was named Nun cho ga, which in Hän means "big animal".
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ranj Pillai:
- The Yukon has always been an internationally renowned leader in Ice Age and Beringia research. We are happy about this significant discovery!
The executive director of the Klondike Placer Miners' Association, Brooke Rudolf, emphasizes that the players have a great role in discovering and maintaining the uniqueness of Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin.
"The Klondike Placer Miners' Association is delighted with this remarkable discovery. We are proud to partner with responsible opencast miners such as the McCaughan family who, through their work, regularly contribute to the paleontological preservation of the Yukon. ” - wrote Rudolf in a statement.
Other similar discoveries took place in Alaska, where the incomplete body of a mammoth named Effie was found in 1948. In 2007, 42,000 people were found in Siberia. years old mummy of a woolly mammoth baby named Lyuba . Nun cho ga is about the same size as Lyuba, the press release reads.
This is an important discovery for the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin community and the Yukon Government. There are famous fossils of animals from the Ice Age in the vicinity.
Woolly mammoths, often called "proper" mammoths, are an extinct species of proboscis. Their characteristic features were dense hair and long, nearly 5 meters long blows. It is assumed that about 250,000 people appeared on Earth. years ago and spread very quickly in Asia, Europe and North America. They were huge animals, ranging from 2.5 to 3.4 meters in height and weighed 4 to 6 tons. According to various sources, about 10,000. years ago.
Source:
- Mummified baby woolly mammoth found by gold miner in the Klondike at:https://yukon.ca/en/news/mummified-baby-woolly-mammoth-found-gold-miner-klondike [accessed:June 27, 2022]