Preserved head of 40,000-year-old wolf found in Russia

Animal belonged to an ancient subspecies of wolf that lived at the same time as the mammoths.

(Dunya News) – Russian scientists have found the 40,000-year-old head of an Ice Age wolf perfectly preserved in the Siberian permafrost. Top researcher at the local branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Plotnikov said, “The animal belonged to an ancient subspecies of wolf that lived at the same time as the mammoths and became extinct alongside them.” It was an adult, about 25 per cent bigger than today’s wolves, but did not say whether it was male or female, the scientist told. Mr Plotnikov called the discovery unique because previously, scientists only had found wolf skulls without tissues or fur whereas this head has perfectly preserved ears, a tongue and brain.