Hunter accidentally discovers first-ever remains of baby woolly rhino

10,000 year-old remains of world&#039;s only known baby woolly rhino

(Image credit: Academy of Sciences Republic of Sakha)

published 26 February 2015

When Alexander "Sasha" Banderov set out on a trip with a friend, he had no idea he'd be making an important historical discovery.

Banderov saw the specimen inside a permafrost on the bank of a stream in Siberia's Sakha Republic. "At first, we thought it was a reindeer's carcass, but after it thawed and fell down, we saw a horn on its upper jaw and realized it must be a rhino," Banderov told The Siberian Times. "The part of the carcass that stuck out of the ice was eaten by wild animals, but the rest of it was inside the permafrost and preserved well." Banderov then contacted the Mammoth Fauna Department of the Yakutian Academy of Sciences to examine the specimen.

The specimen, which has been remarkably well-preserved, is the only known baby woolly rhino specimen in the world. Scientists believe the rhino, which they named Sasha, after Banderov, died about 10,000 years ago and was 18 months old. The remains include wool, an ear, an eye, nostrils, and a mouth. Experts are now trying to extract DNA from the remains to better understand how woolly rhinos grew and lived.