Gold miners in Canada’s Yukon recently came across a one-in-a-lifetime finding that are sending shockwaves throughout the science community.
A 7-week old gray wolf pup was found buried under melting permafrost, and is believed to be 57,000 years old, according to Business Insider.
Researchers believe that the pup, who has since been named "Zhùr,” was in her den when it collapsed, killing the animal instantly. The cold temperatures and high pressure of the frost left the pup completely intact, and prevented the decaying process for over the next millennia.
"She is complete, with all her soft tissues intact and even her fur. This is a very rare find," Julie Meachen, Professor of Anatomy at Des Moines University, told Business Insider.
Meachen is the lead author of this wolf study that was published Monday in the journal of Current Biology.
“Zhùr is the most complete specimen of a mummified Pleistocene gray wolf known,’ Meachen stated in the journal.” “Zhùr’s preservation is exceptional, from the papillae on her lips to her skin and fur.”
The part of Zhùr's body researchers identified as missing were her eyes.
Further data analysis on the pup including DNA samples and oxygen isotope analyses have helped researched better understand the environmental conditions of the world 56,000 – 57,000 years ago.
Zhùr’s DNA was linked to that of other ancient gray wolfs in Eurasia and North America, suggesting a high connectivity between these two continents that allowed animals to move across land that is now separated by ocean.
The local Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people named the 57,000-year-old pup Zhùr, meaning “wolf” in the language of their community, according to National Geographic.
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