Young mammoth Yana dating back 130 thousand years and dissected by scientists: photos

The mammoth, nicknamed “Yana,” was dissected at North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Russia, on March 27. The baby mammoth was preserved in permafrost until it was excavated in the cold Russian province of Yakutia last year.

Autopsy photos show a team of scientists gathered around the 397-pound animal, which closely resembles a modern baby elephant. The creature’s mouth was open, and its torso was contorted as scientists cut open its skin.

Scientists initially thought Yana lived 50,000 years ago, but that estimate was updated to more than 130,000 years ago after scientists analyzed the permafrost layer where she was found.

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A live broadcast of scientists dissecting a 50,000-year-old mammoth calf nicknamed “Yana” is seen on a screen at North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk on March 27, 2025. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

Maxim Cherbasov, head of the Lazarev Museum’s mammoth laboratory, told Reuters last year that the mammoth was just over a year old when it died. The body had been partially eaten by predators when it was discovered.

“As a general rule, the part that molts first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by predators or modern birds,” Cherbasov told Reuters.

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Scientists dissect a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth nicknamed “Yana” at North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk on March 27, 2025. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

“Here, for example, although the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved.”

Although the discovery of a well-preserved mammoth is extremely rare, it is not surprising to discover the remains of other mammoths. In June 2024, a fisherman found a fish Mammoth bone On the banks of the Raba River in Książnice, near Gdów, Poland.

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Scientists dissect a 50,000-year-old baby mammoth nicknamed “Yana” at North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk on March 27, 2025. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

In August of the same year, a fossil collector discovered part of A Tusk of a Colombian mammoth At a dam in Madison County, Mississippi.

Reuters contributed to this report.