Russian scientists present ancient puppy found in permafrost

YAKUTSK, Russia (AP) — Russian scientists have shown off a prehistoric puppy, believed to be 18,000 years old, found in permafrost in the country’s Far East.

Discovered last year in a lump of frozen mud near the city of Yakutsk, the puppy is unusually well-preserved, with its hair, teeth, whiskers and eyelashes still intact. Scientists are still to determine whether the specimen is a dog or a wolf.

In recent years, Russia’s Far East has provided many riches for scientists studying the remains of ancient animals. As the permafrost melts, affected by climate change, more and more parts of woolly mammoths, canines and other prehistoric animals are being discovered.

The puppy is being studied by scientists in Yakutsk’s Mammoth Museum and the Stockholm-based Center for Palaeogenetics.