well-preserved wolf pup

57,000 year-old wolf puppy found frozen in Yukon permafrost

The preserved pup is helping researchers understand how wolves migrated across Europe, Asia, and North America.

A well-preserved wolf pup has been recovered from permafrost in the Yukon Territory of northern Canada, revealing new details about how ancient wolves spread across North America and Eurasia.

Photograph by Government of Yukon

In the summer of 2016, a gold miner in Canada’s Yukon Territory found an unexpected treasure. While blasting a wall of permafrost with a water cannon to release whatever riches might be found inside, Neil Loveless saw something melting out of the ice. It wasn’t a precious mineral, but the oldest and most complete wolf mummy ever discovered.

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