Canadian Gold Miners Find Rare Mummified Baby Woolly Mammoth

File Photo: An artist's reconstruction shows the extinct steppe mammoth, an evolutionary predecessor to the woolly mammoth that flourished during the last Ice Age. (Handout via Reuters)
File Photo: An artist's reconstruction shows the extinct steppe mammoth, an evolutionary predecessor to the woolly mammoth that flourished during the last Ice Age. (Handout via Reuters)
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Canadian Gold Miners Find Rare Mummified Baby Woolly Mammoth

File Photo: An artist's reconstruction shows the extinct steppe mammoth, an evolutionary predecessor to the woolly mammoth that flourished during the last Ice Age. (Handout via Reuters)
File Photo: An artist's reconstruction shows the extinct steppe mammoth, an evolutionary predecessor to the woolly mammoth that flourished during the last Ice Age. (Handout via Reuters)

Miners in the Klondike gold fields of Canada's far north have made a rare discovery, digging up the mummified remains of a near complete baby woolly mammoth.

Members of the local Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation named the calf Nun cho ga, which means "big baby animal."

Paleontologist Grant Zazula said the little tyke, which retained its skin and hair, "is beautiful and one of the most incredible mummified ice age animals ever discovered in the world."

"I am excited to get to know her more," he said in a statement.

The baby mammoth's remains were discovered during excavation through permafrost south of Dawson City in Canada's Yukon territory, which borders the US state of Alaska.

The animal is believed to be female and would have died during the ice age, more than 30,000 years ago when woolly mammoths roamed this region alongside wild horses, cave lions and giant steppe bison.

The discovery marks the first near complete and best-preserved mummified woolly mammoth found in North America.

A partial mammoth calf, named Effie, was found in 1948 at a gold mine in Alaska's interior.

A 42,000-year old mummified infant woolly mammoth, known as Lyuba, was also discovered in Siberia in 2007. Lyuba and Nun cho ga are roughly the same size, according to the Yukon government.

It noted that the Yukon has "a world-renowned fossil record of Ice Age animals, but mummified remains with skin and hair are rarely unearthed."



Prophet's Mosque Welcomes More than 5 million Worshippers in One Week

 Multilingual communication services were utilized by 6,391 visitors from various countries - SPA
Multilingual communication services were utilized by 6,391 visitors from various countries - SPA
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Prophet's Mosque Welcomes More than 5 million Worshippers in One Week

 Multilingual communication services were utilized by 6,391 visitors from various countries - SPA
Multilingual communication services were utilized by 6,391 visitors from various countries - SPA

The Prophet's Mosque experienced a significant influx of 5,037,157 worshippers last week, with the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque ensuring a smooth flow of visitors and providing comprehensive services to cater to their needs.
A large number of visitors, totaling 607,591, greeted the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his two companions. Some 300,682 individuals performed prayers in the Holy Rawdah, where the authority enforced established crowd management procedures and visitation schedules to ensure order and accessibility, SPA reported.
The authority also focused on communication and hygiene. Multilingual communication services were utilized by 6,391 visitors from various countries, facilitating effective interaction and guidance. Extensive sterilization and disinfection efforts were carried out to maintain a high standard of hygiene, using 24,256 liters of disinfectant.
A substantial supply of Zamzam water of 1,370 tons was provided throughout the week, with 166 samples collected for testing and analysis. Furthermore, the authority facilitated the distribution of 219,227 iftar meals in designated areas within the mosque, providing convenient access to food for worshippers breaking their fast.