Science

Intact Woolly Mammoth Baby Uncovered in Northwestern Canada

Geomorphologist Dan Sugar said the mammoth calf's trunk, toenails, and intestines are intact.

Mummified baby woolly mammoth
Photo via Government of Yukon

The preserved remains of a nearly whole 30,000-year-old baby woolly mammoth have been discovered in northwestern Canada.

The baby mammoth was found frozen in permafrost in the Klondike gold fields in the Yukon. Government officials and representatives of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory, where the ancient animal was discovered, said it's the most complete and best-preserved woolly mammoth ever found in North America.

The mummified mammoth was uncovered on June 21 by miners who were digging through the permafrost on Eureka Creek, according to the Yukon government.

Dan Shugar, a geomorphologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, helped extract the mummified mammoth. He tweeted Friday that the initiative was “the most exciting scientific thing I have ever been part of, bar none.”

Shugar said the stunningly preserved mammoth calf still has its trunk, hair, skin, toenails and intestines intact.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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