Intact Ice Age cave bear found in Arctic Russia

Reindeer herders in Russia have found an immaculately preserved carcass of an Ice Age cave bear, with its teeth and even its nose intact.

Great Lyakhovsky Island/Moscow: The remains, revealed by the melting permafrost, were discovered on Great Lyakhovsky Island.

• The island is the largest of the Lyakhovsky Islands, part of the New Siberian Islands archipelago between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea.
• Previously, scientists only had been able to discover the bones of cave bears that became extinct 15,000 years ago.
• The North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk is the premier center for research into woolly mammoths and other prehistoric species.
• Scientists there have hailed the find as ground-breaking.
• The lead researcher at the Zoological Museum of Moscow's State University echoed their excitement, saying the bear's discovery was "unique".
• A preliminary analysis indicated that the adult bear lived 22,000 to 39,500 years ago.
• Recent years have seen major discoveries of mammoths, woolly rhinos, Ice Age foal, several puppies, and Cave Lion cubs as the permafrost melts.

(AP)