The discovery
The bear carcass was found by reindeer herders on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island. It is the largest of the Lyakhovsky Islands, which are part of the New Siberian Islands archipelago that lies between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea.
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A groundbreaking find
Scientists of the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, the premier center for research into woolly mammoths and other prehistoric species, hailed the find as groundbreaking as previously scientists only had been able to discover the bones of cave bears. This is the first time that scientists have seen such a bear with its teeth and even its nose intact.
How old is it?
A preliminary analysis indicated that the adult bear lived 22,000 to 39,500 years ago. A radiocarbon analysis to determine the precise age of the bear, scientists said.
Prehistoric species
The Cave Bears were said to be living in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene age which is considered to be the period between 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago. They went extinct about 24,000 years ago (some put it at 15,000 years ago).
An encouraging trend
The latest discovery is not an isolated one. In recent years, there have seen major discoveries of mammoths, woolly rhinos (in pic), Ice Age foal, several puppies and cave lion cubs as the permafrost melts across vast areas in Russia’s region of Siberia.