An unearthed six month old female calf has created lot of enthusiasm among local people in the permafrost of North West Siberia, a report says. In May 2007, Yuri Khudi, a reindeer harvester stumbled across the carcasses near the Yuribei river, in Russia’s Yamal Nenetes autonomous district. The animal is thought to have died around 10,000 years ago, its trunk and eyes are still intact and some fur still remains on its body.
According to Alexei Tikhonov, Russian Academy of Sciences, “In terms of its state of preservation, this is the world’s most valuable discovery.”
Most mammoths are said to have extinct at the end of last ice age. The exact reason is yet to be discovered. A small group of Mammoths survived around St. Paul Island, Alaska. The exact reason of their death is not yet defined. It may be the adverse weather situation, or over hunting of human being ceased their journey. The entire thing is therefore controversial.
An International delegate of experts has carried out some preliminary examinations on the animal.
Tichonov further said:
The mammoth has no defects except that its tail was bit off…In terms of its state of preservation, this is the world’s most valuable discovery
There are intense speculations among the scientists on what could be hidden in the carcasses. Some of them are stretching as far as resurrecting the mammoth if they could discover any well preserved sperm or other DNAs in any of its cells.
Dr. Larry Agenbroad, director of the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs research centre in South Dakota, US, said:
When we got the Jarkov mammoth [found frozen in Taimyr, Siberia, in 1997], the geneticists told me: ‘if you can get us good DNA, we’ll have a baby mammoth for you in 22 months.’
However, the specimen could not provide a DNA of proper quality, but the scientists put their fingers crossed for the time when the right find emerges from Siberia. There are various scientific ways to convert a mammoth DNA to a full grown calf, but there is always a threat of poachers and antique collectors who are ready to pay hefty amount for these kinds of things. Someday this could damage the scientific purpose of excavation.
Dr. Agenboard warns:
Originally it was for ivory, now it is everything. You can now go on almost any fossil marketing website and find mammoth hair for $50 an inch. It has grown beyond anyone’s imagination
However, the frozen carcasses is to be sent to Japan for detailed study.
Source: BBC