Prehistoric Treasures , Found Preserved , in the Arctic's Melting Permafrost.
The Arctic permafrost has yielded many fascinating discoveries, providing researchers with perfectly-preserved samples of life thousands of years ago.
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Yahoo reports that the permafrost acts as a protective shield that ensures specimens remain intact for many millennia.
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Many of these well-preserved prehistoric creatures still had fur, teeth, skin, muscle tissue and organs intact.
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In July of 2016, gold miner Neil Loveless discovered the perfectly-preserved remains of a Pleistocene gray wolf puppy.
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In July of 2016, gold miner Neil Loveless discovered the perfectly-preserved remains of a Pleistocene gray wolf puppy.
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In 2017 and 2018, mammoth tusk collectors in the Siberian Arctic discovered two mummified cave lions.
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One of the finds is believed to be the, "best-preserved Ice Age animal ever found.".
One of the cubs dates back 28,000 years, while the other goes back over 44,000 years.
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Also in 2018, a 42,000-year-old foal was discovered in a crater in Siberia's Verkhoyansk region.
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This unique specimen was so well preserved that scientists found it contained liquid blood and urine in addition to intact organs.
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Researchers at North-Eastern Federal University, who performed an autopsy on the foal, believe that it drowned while being hunted by predators.
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Also contained within the Siberian permafrost was a 24,000-year-old freshwater microorganism from the late Stone Age.
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The microscopically-small creature had been suspended in ice for thousands of years before being awakened from its slumber by scientists.
