Scientists examined Yana, a remarkably preserved baby mammoth discovered in Yakutia, during a necropsy in March 2025. They reported intact stomach and intestinal remains and collected samples for further study—but have not yet published findings about her diet, ancient microbes or cause of death. Her age is also an estimate based on the ground where she was found: later reporting places it above 130,000 years, rather than confirming an exact age.
Where was Yana found?
Yana was found in 2024 at Batagaika in Yakutia, a region in Russia’s far east. Her name comes from the Yana River basin. The carcass emerged as permafrost thawed; frozen ground had helped preserve much of her body. The Associated Press reported her discovery and an initial age estimate of about 50,000 years in December 2024.
Thawing permafrost is the immediate context for the exposure. Reporting linked the thaw to climate change and global warming, but did not quantify how much climate change contributed to this particular event. The discovery is an example of thaw revealing remains once held in frozen ground, not a measured attribution study of Yana’s exposure.
How old is Yana?
The first public estimate was roughly 50,000 years. During reporting on the necropsy, Mammoth Museum director Maxim Cheprasov said analysis of the permafrost layer where Yana lay led to a revised estimate of “more than 130,000 years.” A September 2025 update from Seligdar and North-Eastern Federal University described her geological age more broadly as exceeding 100,000 years.
These are geological-context estimates, not a direct age determination of the carcass. The reports do not detail the dating method or provide a primary scientific paper establishing an exact age. It is therefore more accurate to say that Yana is estimated to be older than 100,000 years, with a later reported estimate above 130,000, than to state that she is exactly 130,000 years old.
What did scientists find when they dissected Yana?
The necropsy—the animal equivalent of an autopsy—took place over several hours in late March 2025 at the Mammoth Museum of North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk. Scientists examined the preserved body and collected samples. AFP reporting described reddish hair and preserved skin, a recognizable head and trunk, and internal tissues. Researchers said the stomach was preserved and parts of the intestines, including the colon, remained. A university-affiliated update also listed the heart and lungs among preserved organs.
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Artemy Goncharov, head of the Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Microorganisms at Russia’s Institute of Experimental Medicine, said: “We can see that many organs and tissues are very well preserved.”
AFP reported Yana’s measurements as 1.2 metres at the shoulder, about two metres long and 180 kilograms. These are reported measurements of this specimen.
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What do researchers hope to learn from the samples?
Researchers described planned analyses, not completed scientific findings. Their aims include examining digestive contents, plant material and spores, and ancient microorganisms. Those samples may help investigators study Yana’s environment and compare ancient microorganisms with modern ones. Goncharov called the work “an opportunity to look into the past of our planet.”
The preserved stomach and intestinal material make those questions possible, but the coverage does not report a published reconstruction of Yana’s diet or microbiome. Scientists had not determined why she died young. The necropsy and sample collection are steps toward analysis, not answers to those questions.
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Why did permafrost preserve Yana—and then expose her?
Frozen ground can slow the decay of buried remains, which helps explain why Yana’s skin, hair and internal tissues survived. When permafrost thaws, previously frozen material can become exposed. In Yana’s case, thawing revealed the carcass for researchers to study. The available reports place that thaw in a climate-change context but do not establish a quantified cause for the specific exposure.
A September 2025 institutional update said study of Yana was continuing in Yakutia. The urgency suggested by headlines about a race against thaw should not be mistaken for evidence that her remains were about to disappear: that update described ongoing research, not a published deadline or imminent loss.
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