A gold miner in Canada recently discovered the nearly intact mummy of a woolly mammoth dating back 30,000 years, as reported by CBS News on June 25.
The mummy of the juvenile female mammoth has been named “Nun cho ga” – meaning “big animal” in the Hän language of the indigenous people, according to information from the Yukon territorial government in western Canada.
The animal is estimated to have been frozen during the Ice Age over 30,000 years ago. (Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The gold miner found the mummy, which still has its skin and fur intact, while digging through the permafrost in the Eureka Creek area of the Klondike gold mine in Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, located in Yukon territory.
The animal is estimated to have been frozen during the Ice Age over 30,000 years ago. When alive, “Nun cho ga” likely roamed Yukon alongside wild horses, cave lions, and giant bison.
Officials confirmed that this is a “significant” and rare discovery, even for an area like Yukon, which has a “world-famous fossil record of Ice Age animals.”
The mummy of the mammoth is named “Nun cho ga”. (Photo: DEAN LOMAX / TWITTER).
A statement from local authorities noted: “The discovery of ‘Nun cho ga’ marks the first time a nearly complete and well-preserved mammoth mummy has been found in North America.”
“It’s incredible. I held my breath when they removed the tarp. We must treat this mummy with respect,” expressed Elder Peggy Kormendy of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.
According to CBS News, similar discoveries have been recorded in Alaska, including the partial mummy of a mammoth named Effie found in 1948.
In 2007, the remains of a 42,000-year-old newborn mammoth named Lyuba were discovered in Siberia. “Nun cho ga” is comparable in size to Lyuba, according to the local government statement.
Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin and the Yukon government are collaborating to carefully preserve the mummy and learn more about “Nun cho ga.”
CBS News quoted Dr. Grant Zazula, a member of the research team, stating: “As a paleontologist studying the Ice Age, one of my greatest dreams in life was to see a real mammoth. Today that dream has come true.”
“‘Nun cho ga’ looks beautiful and is one of the most amazing animal mummies ever excavated in the world,” the doctor added.
