A 14,400-Year-Old Wolf Puppy's Last Meal Reveals Woolly Rhino Genome Secrets

A single meal has become a scientific milestone 14,400 years after it was consumed. Researchers examining the frozen, mummified remains of an Ice Age wolf puppy found a partially digested secret in its stomach that sheds new light on the woolly rhinoceros.

The 14,400-Year-Old Wolf Puppy Woolly Rhino Genome Discovery

Scientists conducting an autopsy on the puppy, found near Tumat village in Siberia, discovered a prime cut of meat preserved for millennia. DNA testing revealed the meat belonged to a 2-metric-ton behemoth: a woolly rhinoceros. Sólveig Guðjónsdóttir from Stockholm University and her team recently achieved a breakthrough by sequencing a full genome from this stomach fragment.

A Landmark for Paleogenomics

This study marks the first time a full genome of an Ice Age animal has been recovered from the stomach of another species. Camilo Chacón-Duque, a paleogeneticist at Uppsala University, called it a "giant leap" for the field. The genetic data provides rare insights into the woolly rhino population in the centuries leading up to their extinction.