Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

50,000-Year-Old Mummified Remains of Wolf Pup and Caribou Found in Northern Canada

posted by mrpg on Monday September 17 2018, @12:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the glad-to-know-that dept.

takyon writes:

Mummified ice age wolf pup and caribou found in northern Canada

The rare remains of an ice-age wolf pup and a caribou will offer insights about life in Canada's far north more than 50,000 years ago, scientists say. The creatures were discovered with intact hair, skin, and muscle tissue.

They were found in 2016 by miners near Dawson City in Yukon, and handed over to palaeontologists for research and analysis. They are among the oldest mummified mammal soft tissue in the world, palaeontologist Grant Zazula said.

The wolf pup is estimated to have been about eight weeks old when it died. "It's beautiful, the fur, it's got the cute little paws and tail and the curled upper lip showing its teeth. It's spectacular," Mr Zazula told the Canadian Press news agency on Thursday.

Also at CBC and The Guardian.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
50,000-Year-Old Mummified Remains of Wolf Pup and Caribou Found in Northern Canada | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 9 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday September 17 2018, @10:31AM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Monday September 17 2018, @10:31AM (#735916) Homepage
    The thing is that we're calling it a wolf, and we know that wolves are quite scary creatures (often having roles as bad guys in fairy tales), yet what we have here is what I would call evidence for domestication - you don't mummify a wild animal, you only mummify something you actually care about - something that belongs to you. I'd like to see some independent dating, because if so, this would be the earliest evidence of the domestication of /Canis/ that I know of.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 17 2018, @12:02PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 17 2018, @12:02PM (#735936)

    It seems that was unintentional natural extreme cold mummification.