Activists and officials in Russia are warning of a "gold rush" for mammoth ivory in the country as permafrost thaws in the Yakutia region in the eastern half of the country, The Guardian reports.
The melting permafrost, induced by climate change, has made it easier for prospectors to find and dig up woolly mammoth tusks and other remains that can then be sold to China, where they are fashioned into jewelry and other decorations, for a small fortune. Woolly mammoth ivory preserved in permafrost in Yakutia reportedly makes up 80 percent of Russia's trade in what is largely an unregulated market worth tens of millions each year.
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