Russian Scientists Examine 44,000-Year-Old Wolf Found in Permafrost

A wolf that has been frozen in permafrost for around 44,000 years is being studied by Russian scientists. This discovery is considered the first of its kind, as it is the oldest known Pleistocene predator ever found.

The wolf’s carcass was discovered by locals in the Abyysky district of Yakutia, a remote region in northeastern Russia, back in 2021. However, it is only now that scientists are conducting a thorough examination of the remains, according to a report by Reuters on Friday.

Albert Protopopov, who leads the department for the study of mammoth fauna at the Yakutia Academy of Sciences, stated, “This is the world’s first discovery of a late Pleistocene predator. Its age is about 44,000 years, and there have never been such finds before.”

Yakutia, located between the Arctic Ocean and Russia’s far eastern Arctic region, is a vast area filled with swamps and forests. About 95 percent of this region is covered in permafrost, where winter temperatures can plummet to as low as minus 64 degrees Celsius (-83.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

Protopopov explained that it is usually herbivorous animals that get stuck in swamps, freeze, and are found intact. “This is the first time a large carnivore has been discovered,” he said.

While finding ancient animal carcasses in permafrost is not uncommon, the wolf is unique, Protopopov noted. “It was a very active predator, one of the larger ones. Slightly smaller than cave lions and bears, but a very active, mobile predator, and it was also a scavenger,” he added.

Artyom Nedoluzhko, the development director of the paleogenetics laboratory at the European University at Saint Petersburg, mentioned that the wolf’s remains provide a rare glimpse into life in Yakutia 44,000 years ago. “The main goal is to understand what this wolf fed on, who it was, and how it relates to those ancient wolves that inhabited the northeastern part of Eurasia,” he said.