Siberian gold miners accidentally find ancient woolly rhino mummy with horn and soft tissues still intact

Gold miners in Siberia recently unearthed a mummified woolly rhino carcass with its horn and soft tissues still intact. The miners in the Sakha Republic, came across the carcass while excavating the site of a new quarry.

Photos of the remains, found in the Oymyakon District, appeared on the Russian social media site Telegram on Aug. 2.

Following the discovery, researchers at the North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk visited the site and recovered the rhino's horn. The rest of the mummified woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) will be excavated in the coming months, according to a translated statement from the NEFU.

"This is a truly unique find that will allow us to study the History of the region, its ancient fauna, climate and geological conditions in more depth," Anatoly Nikolaev, rector of the NEFU, said in the statement.

The permafrost in Siberia provides ideal conditions for the preservation of ancient creatures. The cold conditions mummify the remains, normally dehydrating soft tissues and locking them away in a frozen "time capsule."

The discovery of soft tissue is rare and allows scientists to get a far better insight into the life of the animal and the environment at the time it died compared to skeletal remains. It also provides a better opportunity to extract ancient DNA from the remains.

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