Over 22,000 Years Old Preserved Extinct Cave Bear Found in the Siberian Islands

Scientists have recently found a completely preserved carcass of a prehistoric species or subspecies of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, that lived in Eurasia in the Middle and Late Pleistocene period which became extinct about 15,000 years ago.

‘”Today this is the first and only find of its kind – a whole bear carcass with soft tissues. It is completely preserved, with all internal organs in place including even its nose.”

– Lena Grigorieva, Scientist, NEFU Researcher, September 14, 2020

The remains of the cave bear were found by reindeer herders in melting permafrost on the Lyakhovsky Islands which belongs to the New Siberian Islands archipelago between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea in northern Russia.

North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk, Russia, which is at the forefront of research into extinct woolly mammoths and rhinos, is the one to analyze the said remains.

Based on preliminary analysis, it is suggested that the cave bear is already between 22,000 and 39,500 years old. Senior researcher Maxim Cheprasov from the Mammoth Museum laboratory in Yakutsk said that it is necessary to carry out radiocarbon analysis to determine the precise age of the bear.

According to NEFU, scientists have already previously found skulls and bones of cave bears, but never a whole carcass like of the latest discovery. Thus, this find is considered of great importance.

They are to prepare a scientific program for the comprehensive study of the cave bear’s remains. It will be studied using all modern scientific research methods such as molecular genetic, cellular, microbiological, and others.

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Source: Science Alert, Business Insider, North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU)