Scientists unlock new secrets of frozen prehistoric cave lion cubs
The cubs, found in eastern Siberia in 2017 and 2018, are some of the best-preserved specimens ever found from the prehistoric era.
After tens of thousands of years frozen in ice and permafrost, the young cave lion cub known as "Sparta" found in Siberia in recent years is remarkably well-preserved, from its fur down to its claws and even its whiskers.
Now, a new study on the cub, one of two found within a few metres of one another on the banks of the Semyuelyakh River in Russia's far-eastern Yakutia region, has unlocked new insights into the cubs – including their ages and possible causes of death.
Sparta, the female, has drawn a fair bit of press in recent days with the discovery that she had been buried in the permafrost for 28,000 years, but the male, called Boris, was found to be even older, around 43,000 years old, confirming that though they were found a few metres apart, they were not siblings.
The preserved lion cub, called "Sparta" by the researchers, is estimated to be 28,000 years old (Love Dalén/Centre for Paleogenetics).
That's one tidbit out of many included in the new research, published in the journal Quarternary by scientists in Russia, Sweden, Japan, France and the U.K.
The researchers were also able to determine the sex of the two cubs, as well as their age, at around one or two months.
The two are cave lions, a larger relative of today's African lions, and their discovery allowed the researchers to compare them to their modern cousins, with one key difference including thick and long fur undercoats, likely an adaptation to the cold climate they would have inhabited.
The researchers also say the cubs likely weren't killed by predators, though analysis did find internal damage, despite their otherwise advanced state of preservation.
"Given their preservation they must have been buried very quickly. So maybe they died in a mudslide, or fell into a crack in the permafrost," Love Dalén, one of the authors, told CNN. "Permafrost forms large cracks due to seasonal thawing and freezing."