---
title: "Scientists dissect 3,500-year-old bear discovered in Siberian permafrost"
description: "YAKUTSK, Russia, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A brown bear that lay almost perfectly preserved in the frozen wilds of eastern Siberia for 3,500 years has undergone a necropsy by a team of scientists after it was discovered by reindeer herders on a desolate island in the Arctic."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Siberia"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-02-23-scientists-dissect-3500-year-old-bear-discovered-in-siberian-permafrost/"
published: "2023-02-23T14:20:36"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 359
---

# Scientists dissect 3,500-year-old bear discovered in Siberian permafrost

> YAKUTSK, Russia, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A brown bear that lay almost perfectly preserved in the frozen wilds of eastern Siberia for 3,500 years has undergone a necropsy by a team of scientists after it was discovered by reindeer herders on a desolate island in the Arctic.

By Reuters · Published 23 February 2023, 16:20 SAST

## Key points
- Reindeer herders in eastern Siberia made a remarkable discovery in 2020 - the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear. The female bear, named the Etherican brown bear, was found on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island and is estimated to be around 3,460 years old. Scientists from North-Eastern Federal University's Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory were able to study its brain and internal organs, discovering that it had died from an injury to its spinal column. The bear doesn't differ genetically from modern bears found in Russia's Yakutia and Chukotka regions, leading researchers to speculate that it may have crossed over ice or swum across the now 50 km strait separating the island from the mainland. This amazing find adds to the rich palaeontological treasures held by Lyakhovsky islands and provides an opportunity to learn more about our ancient past.
- Scientists in Siberia have discovered the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear, preserved for 3,460 years in the permafrost.
- The female bear was found on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island and has been named the Etherican brown bear.
- Scientists were able to examine its brain, internal organs and carry out a host of cellular, microbiological, virological and genetic studies.
- Genetic analysis has shown that the bear does not differ from modern bears from north-east Russia, and it is believed to have died from an injury to its spinal column.

## Content

"This find is absolutely unique: the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear," said Maxim Cheprasov, laboratory chief at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia.

The female bear was found by reindeer herders in 2020 jutting out of the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, part of the New Siberian archipelago around 4,600 km east of Moscow.

Because it was found just east of the Bolshoy Etherican River, it has been named the Etherican brown bear.

The extreme temperatures helped preserve the bear's soft tissue for 3,460 years, as well as remains of its final repasts - bird feathers and plants. The bear is described as being 1.55 metres (5.09 ft) tall and weighing nearly 78 kg (12 stone).

"For the first time, a carcass with soft tissues has fallen into the hands of scientists, giving us the opportunity to study the internal organs and examine the brain," said Cheprasov.

The scientific team in Siberia cut through the bear's tough hide, allowing scientists to examine its brain, internal organs and carry out a host of cellular, microbiological, virological and genetic studies.

The pink tissue and yellow fat of the bear was clearly visible as the team dissected the ancient beast.

They also sawed through its skull, using a vacuum cleaner to suck up the skull bone dust, before extracting its brain.

"Genetic analysis has shown that the bear does not differ in mitochondrial DNA from the modern bear from the north-east of Russia – Yakutia and Chukotka," Cheprasov said.

He said the bear was probably aged about 2-3 years. It died from an injury to its spinal column.

It is, though, unclear how the bear came to be on the island, which is now divided from the mainland by a 50 km (31 mile) strait. It may have crossed over ice, it might have swum over, or the island might still have been part of the mainland.

The Lyakhovsky islands contain some of the richest palaeontological treasures in the world, attracting both scientists and ivory traders hunting for woolly mammoths.

(Reporting by ReutersWriting by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Gareth Jones and Raissa Kasolowsky)