Ice-Age Wolf Head Preserved in Siberian Permafrost Reveals Fur, Brain, and Youth
A mammoth-ivory hunter retrieved a roughly 40,000-year-old wolf head from thawing Siberian permafrost, with fur, whiskers and a brain intact. CT scans show no marks from humans or scavengers, suggesting natural ice movement detached the neck and preserved soft tissues. The wolf is estimated to have been about a year to 18 months old. The find highlights permafrost’s extraordinary preservation of Ice Age life and complements broader ancient-wolf genetic research revealing extensive historical gene flow across the northern hemisphere.