The Jarkov Mammoth (named for the family who discovered it), is a
woolly mammoth
The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived from the Middle Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African ...
[Mol, D. et al. (2001). The Jarkov Mammoth: 20,000-Year-Old carcass of a Siberian woolly mammoth ''Mammuthus primigenius'' (Blumenbach, 1799). The World of Elephants, Proceedings of the 1st International Congress (October 16–20, 2001, Rome): 305-309]
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specimen discovered on the
Taymyr Peninsula
The Taymyr Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administratively it is part of the Krasnoyarsk Krai Federal subject of Russia.
Ge ...
of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
by a nine-year-old boy in 1997. This particular mammoth is estimated to have lived about 20,000 years ago. It is likely to be
male
Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...
and probably died at age 47.
Discovery
Simion Jarkov was a young
Dolgan
Dolgans (; ; ) are a Turkicized Tungusic ethnic group who mostly inhabit Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. They are descended from several groups, particularly Evenks, one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North. Dolgans are the most closely r ...
living in the village of
Khatanga, north of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
. Jarkov was visiting his family approximately further north in
Novorybnoye. While hunting near 73°32'N, 105°49'E,
he discovered the curved, tips
of the
tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, canine teeth, as with Narwhal, narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, ...
s, which his brother reported to the Taymyr Nature Reserve. An attempt was initially made to move the tusks. The director, Yurik Karbuinov, said:
At first they tried to move the tusks, but I advised them to secure the site because it seemed to be a unique find.
The Nature Reserve did not initially investigate the find, so the Jarkovs contacted a Siberia specialist who would become a well-known mammoth-hunter
Bernard Buigues. On 18 October 1999, the 23 tonne block of mud and ice was lifted via
Mil Mi-26
The Mil Mi-26 (, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest helicopter to have gone into serial product ...
heavy-load transport helicopter to the ice cave in Khatanga.
Research
The Jarkov Mammoth was recovered from a 23
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
frozen block and transported to
Khatanga under the supervision of
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
mammoth-hunter
Bernard Buigues.
[
It currently resides in an ]ice cave
An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ye ...
where over 36 scientists from around the world, including Russian mammoth expert Alexei Tikhonov, study the find. The excavation and ongoing study of the Jarkov Mammoth has been recorded by the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
.[
Bone marrow and ]Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
plant samples have been removed and sent to various laboratories for analysis as the mammoth thaws. As of 2001, the intactness of the mammoth is unknown. Over 50 samples from the Jarkov Mammoth have been carbon-14
Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...
dated. Indications are that mammoths roamed the Taimyr region for tens of thousands of years.[
Scientists have determined that there were two periods when the mammoths departed the region, either in search of food or to escape flooding: 34,000 to 30,000 BC and 17,000 to 12,000 BC. The Jarkov Mammoth is believed to have lived between these two periods, 18,380 BC.]
Cloning
Some scientists have expressed hopes that mammoth DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
may be extracted and cloned to bring the species back from extinction
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
. However, other scientists, such as Alexei Tikhonov, have expressed concerns of the viability of any genetic material extracted. According to Tikhonov:
See also
*List of mammoths
This list covers mammoth remains which are either notable in their history or preservation. Mass accumulations of mammoth remains are included in the latter portion of this list.
List of notable individual fossil or subfossil mammoth remains
...
*Adams mammoth
The Adams mammoth also known as the Lensky mammoth is the first woolly mammoth skeleton with skin and flesh still attached to be recovered by scientists. The mostly complete skeleton and flesh were discovered in 1799 in the northeastern Arctic S ...
* Lyuba mammoth
*Sopkarga mammoth
The Sopkarga mammoth, alternately spelled Sopkarginsky mammoth, and informally called Zhenya, after the nickname of its discoverer, is a woolly mammoth carcass found in October 2012. It was discovered away from the Sopkarga polar weather station ...
(Zhenya)
* Yuka mammoth
*Yukagir mammoth
The Yukagir Mammoth is a frozen adult male woolly mammoth specimen found in the autumn of 2002 in northern Yakutia, Arctic Siberia, Russia, and is considered to be an exceptional discovery. The nickname refers to the Siberian village near where i ...
References
{{coord, 73, 32, N, 105, 49, E, region:RU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Mammoth specimens
1997 in Russia
1997 in paleontology
1997 archaeological discoveries