Baby Mammoth Could Shed Light on Warming

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2008/jan/04/010405129.html

Frozen in much the state it died some 37,500 years ago, a Siberian baby mammoth undergoing tests in Japan could finally explain why the beasts were driven to extinction - and shed light on climate change, scientists said Friday.

The 6-month-old calf, unearthed in May by a reindeer herder in northern Siberia's remote Yamal-Nenets autonomous region, is virtually intact and even has some fur, though the tail and ear of the animal dubbed "Lyuba" were apparently bitten off.

"Lyuba's discovery is an historic event," said Bernard Buigues, vice president of the Geneva-based International Mammoth Committee. "It could tell us why this species didn't survive ... and shed light on the fate of human beings."

The last of the ancient beasts are thought to have roamed the earth from about 4.8 million years ago to 4,000 years ago, and researchers have debated whether their demise was due to climate change or over-hunting by humans.

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[aquart]

1. Intact with fur? As in flash frozen and never thawed till now?

Let me know if this one also has buttercups in his stomach.

[greenman3610]

2. its just a movie tie in

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/10000bc/

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. LOL.