A 40,000-year-old severed wolf's head was discovered in Siberia

"This is the first time the head of an ancient wolf has been found whose soft tissue has been preserved after 40,000 years," Albert Protopopov, a Russian expert, told CNN.
Other ancient creatures recently unearthed include a lion cub and a 42,000-year-old foal. Protopopov told CNN more remains are likely to be revealed in the region as climate change warms the earth.
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A 40,000-year-old severed wolf's head, complete with fur, teeth, brain, and facial tissue, was discovered in Russia preserved by permafrost. It dates back as early as the Pleistocene Era, or the Ice Age.

The head was found last summer on the banks of a river in the region of Yakutia, according to the Siberian Times , a local media outlet. Yakutia locals unearthed the wolf head while looking for mammoth ivory and brought it to the mammoth studies department at the Academy of Sciences in the Republic of Sakha, according to CNN.

"This is the first time the head of an ancient wolf has been found whose soft tissue has been preserved after 40,000 years, a grown wolf," Albert Protopopov, the director of the department, told CNN.

According to Reuters , the ancient wolf's head was visibly bigger than that of a modern wolf. Scientists are now working on preventing decay and preserving its tissue, as well as building a digital model of the wolf's brain and the skull's interior, Protopopov told CNN.

Other ancient creatures have been found in the ice of this area before, including an ancient cave lion club and 42,000-year-old foal. With climate change warming the planet's temperature, more remains will likely be revealed in the region, Protopopov told CNN.

"The number of discoveries is growing because of the thaw of the permafrost," he said.

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