Russian scientists have begun an autopsy of a wolf from the Ice Age to study its health and lifestyle and investigate if it houses microorganisms that could benefit science.
In the Yakutia region of Northeastern Russia, a wilderness that features several rivers and lakes, the temperatures can drop to a world-record low of – 83 degrees Fahrenheit (- 64 degrees Celsius). Due to this extreme cold, scientists in the region have previously unearthed millennia-old animal carcasses preserved in the permafrost, according to Reuters. However, this wolf is the first discovery of its kind.
The rise in global temperatures has initiated the thawing of the permafrost, which likely aided local residents in spotting the carcass embedded in the permafrost at a depth of approximately 131 feet (40 meters) on the Tirekhtyakh River in the Abyisky District back in 2021.
The remains of the 44,000-year-old wolf were transferred to the Academy of Science of the Republic of Sakha for scientific research in 2021. However, the autopsy has only recently begun.
Albert Protopopov, head of the Mammoth Fauna Study Department of the Academy of Sciences of Yakutia, told Reuters that typically, herbivorous animals die, become trapped in swamps, freeze, and are discovered intact.
However, he emphasized that this is the first instance of finding an adult predator from the late Pleistocene era.
“Its stomach has been preserved separately,” he stated, along with its internal organs, providing a rare glimpse into the Ice Age in the Yakutia region. As an active and large predator, this presents a unique opportunity to determine the diet of the wolf and its prey.
Additionally, the researchers collected one premolar – a tooth – to establish the biological age of the find. Judging by the wear on the teeth and the development of the sagittal ridge, it was already confirmed that this was an adult male, added Maxim Cheprasov, head of the NEFU Mammoth Museum laboratory where the autopsy is currently underway.
The wolf might contain ancient microorganisms still living
Research on ancient fossils conducted by the Mammoth Museum, particularly on Yakut and Lena horses, hares, and the Holocene bear, enables scientists to map genome sequences, which they intend to determine for the wolf by analyzing soft tissue samples.
The scientific director of the Paleogenomics Laboratory of the European University in St. Petersburg stated that genome research could offer new insights into the planet’s history and the factors contributing to mass extinction and provide a better understanding of the future.
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Therefore, this interdisciplinary research, which also involves the Department of Epidemiology, Parasitology, and Disinfection at the North-West State Medical University, will greatly benefit from the study of this single wolf.
The 44,000-year-old wolf might also house ancient microorganisms, as bacteria can survive in fossils for thousands of years. Researchers hope to learn about the ancient microbial communities present during the Ice Age, including pathogens and their functions.
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Maria Mocerino Originally from LA, Maria Mocerino has been published in Business Insider, The Irish Examiner, The Rogue Mag, Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, and now Interesting Engineering.
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