A 9,000-year-old bison? Researchers perform autopsy to reveal secrets of ancient animal

Three years after members of the Yukagir tribe in northern Siberia stumbled upon the remains of a 9,000-year-old steppe bison, researchers are ready to conduct an autopsy on the well-preserved beast that had been trapped in the frozen ground.

The bison is an extinct ancestor to the modern bison that can be found on the plains of North America and northern Europe. The carcass was sent to Siberia’s Yakutian Academy of Sciences, where scientists hope to learn about the animal’s secrets, according to an NBC News report.

Known as the Yukagir bison mummy, the animal was discovered with its internal organs almost completely intact and is the most well-preserved specimen of the species. Usually, the mummies of large animals in North America or Siberia are just partial carcasses that have been half-eaten or destroyed by tens of thousands of years of lying in permafrost.

This particular bison probably died at only 4 years old, and based on the lack of fat around the animal’s abdomen, it likely died of starvation.

Its heart, blood vessels, and digestive system were relatively intact although some organs had shrunk quite a bit during its time in the frozen ground. Researchers were even able to get tissue samples from each organ.

The findings were presented to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Berlin, Germany. It will be published in the society’s journal.