50,000-year-old baby mammoth discovered in ‘exceptional’ find: ‘Remarkably well preserved’

These scientists made a mammoth discovery — literally.

Remains of a baby mammoth that has been almost perfectly preserved for 50,000 years have been unveiled to the public by researchers in Russia.

The female mammoth, nicknamed “Yana” after the river basin where she was discovered, was found in the now-melting permafrost at the Batagaika crater in eastern Siberia.

Researchers reveal the carcass of a baby mammoth. REUTERS

Yana weighs more than 220 pounds and is 47 inches tall, according to the Associated Press. Scientists believe that Yana was just 1 year old at the time of her death.

There were no signs of damage to the head, trunk, ears and mouth, according to Anatoly Nikolaev, rector of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia.

Also known as the “gateway to the underworld,” the Batagaika crater is 1 kilometer (about 3,280 feet) deep. Remains of other ancient animals have also been found here, including bison, horses and dogs.

The carcass of a baby mammoth is estimated to be over 50,000 years old. REUTERS

There were no signs of damage to the head, trunk, ears and mouth. MICHIL YAKOVLEV/North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk/AFP via Getty Images

As the permafrost melts, more prehistoric animal remains are being uncovered.

Yana was found in June by local residents who were in the right place at the right time.

“The locals happened to be at Batagaika … and noticed that the mammoth calf had partially thawed from the wall, about [130 feet] below the surface,” Maxim Cherpasov, head of the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory, told Russian state media outlet, TASS.

The discovery was a “unique research find” which found the scientists “all surprised by its exceptional preservation,” he added.

“Yana is definitely the best-preserved in the world,” the NEFU scientists stated in a press release on Monday.

“As a rule, the part that thaws out first, especially the trunk, is often eaten by modern predators or birds. Here, for example, even though the forelimbs have already been eaten, the head is remarkably well preserved,” Cherpasov told Reuters.

Yana weighs more than 220 pounds and is 47 inches tall. MICHIL YAKOVLEV/North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk/AFP via Getty Images

The female mammoth, nicknamed “Yana” after the river basin where she was discovered, was found in the now-melting permafrost at the Batagaika crater in eastern Siberia. REUTERS

Yana’s remains are one of just seven mammoth carcasses recovered globally. REUTERS

Yana’s remains are one of just seven mammoth carcasses recovered globally.

The mammoth will be studied at Russia’s North-Eastern Federal University, which has a mammoth research center and museum, with researchers hoping to learn more about how they lived and adapted to their environment.