Cave Lion Cub Found in Siberia Is 28,000 Years Old
2021-08-20
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1Scientists say the remains of a young lion found in Russia in 2018 are 28,000 years old and in excellent condition.
2They say the lion baby, or cub, may still hold some of its mother's milk inside it.
3The cub was a female cave lion. Researchers named her Sparta.
4Her remains were discovered in permanently frozen ground at the Semyuelyakh River in Russia's Yakutia area.
5The remains of another ancient cave lion had been found nearby in 2017.
6It was a male that researchers named Boris.
7The findings were part of a study published in the journal Quaternary.
8The study said the cubs were found 15 meters from each other.
9But, the scientists said many generations separated them.
10The research showed that Boris lived around 43,448 years ago.
11Cave lions died out thousands of years ago.
12The two cubs, aged 1-2 months, were found by mammoth tusk collectors.
13Mammoths were large, hairy prehistoric elephants with very long teeth, or tusks.
14Two other lion cubs have also been found in the Yakutia area in recent years.
15Valery Plotnikov is one of the study's writers.
16He told Reuters that Sparta was so well preserved that it still had its fur, organs and skeleton.
17"The find itself is unique; there was not any other such find in Yakutia," he said.
18Plotnikov added that the scientists hope to find evidence of mother's milk inside Sparta in order to learn what cave lions ate.
19Similar finds in Russia's larger Siberian area have increased in recent years.
20Climate change is warming the Arctic faster than the rest of the world.
21That increase in temperature has melted the ground in some areas that were permanently frozen.
22I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Scientists say the remains of a young lion found in Russia in 2018 are 28,000 years old and in excellent condition. They say the lion baby, or cub, may still hold some of its mother's milk inside it. 2The cub was a female cave lion. Researchers named her Sparta. Her remains were discovered in permanently frozen ground at the Semyuelyakh River in Russia's Yakutia area. 3The remains of another ancient cave lion had been found nearby in 2017. It was a male that researchers named Boris. 4The findings were part of a study published in the journal Quaternary. 5The study said the cubs were found 15 meters from each other. But, the scientists said many generations separated them. The research showed that Boris lived around 43,448 years ago. 6Cave lions died out thousands of years ago. The two cubs, aged 1-2 months, were found by mammoth tusk collectors. Mammoths were large, hairy prehistoric elephants with very long teeth, or tusks. 7Two other lion cubs have also been found in the Yakutia area in recent years. 8Valery Plotnikov is one of the study's writers. He told Reuters that Sparta was so well preserved that it still had its fur, organs and skeleton. 9"The find itself is unique; there was not any other such find in Yakutia," he said. 10Plotnikov added that the scientists hope to find evidence of mother's milk inside Sparta in order to learn what cave lions ate. 11Similar finds in Russia's larger Siberian area have increased in recent years. Climate change is warming the Arctic faster than the rest of the world. That increase in temperature has melted the ground in some areas that were permanently frozen. 12I'm Jonathan Evans. 13Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English based on a report from the Reuters news service. Caty Weaver was the editor. 14________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16preserved - adj. kept safe from injury, loss or ruin 17unique - adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else