VOA科学技术2025--Scientists Show Baby Mammoth Preserved for 50,000 Years in Siberia

Researchers in Russia's Siberia area are showing the public what they say are the 50,000-year-old remains¹ of a baby mammoth².

Melting permafrost led to the animal's discovery. They are calling it the best-preserved mammoth body ever found.

Named Yana by the scientists, the female mammoth weighs more than 100 kilograms and is 120 centimeters tall.

Scientists believe that Yana was one year old when she died. Her remains are among several mammoth carcasses that have been recovered.

Yana was found among the melting permafrost at Batagaika crater³ in the far-eastern Russian area of Yakutia. Known as the "gateway⁴ to the underworld," scientists have found remains of other ancient animals there, including bison, horses and dogs.

Permafrost is soil that remains frozen for a period of years or more. As the permafrost in Siberia melts, discoveries of prehistoric⁵ animals are becoming more common.

Scientists at Russia's North-Eastern Federal University will study Yana's remains. The university has a research center and museum specifically for mammoths.

Scientists at the university described the find as "exceptional." They said Yana would give researchers additional information about how mammoths lived and how they changed to survive in their surroundings.

I'm Anna Matteo.

The Associated Press reported this story. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

permafrost -n. soil that remains frozen for a period of years or longer without melting

preserved -adj. kept in good condition; relatively⁶ unchanged by conditions such as age, wear or weather

carcass -n. the remains of a dead animal

crater -n. a circular hole in the earth with a steep edge and curving bottom that is often caused by a meteor strike or volcanic⁷ activity

exceptional -adj. something that is unlike others; remarkable or surprising

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

3 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

4 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

5 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。