Ancient Ice Age Canines, Approximately 14,000 Years Old, Proven to be Female Wolves Sharing a Meal of Woolly Rhino Prior to Death
Fossilized "Puppies" Prove They're Not Man's Best Friend
Got your attention! Researchers have discovered that two puppy-like creatures, found frozen in Siberia, aren't man's best friend after all. The Pennsylvania-sized chunk of permafrost revealed a couple of canines who, unfortunately for dog lovers, are almost certainly wolves.
As archaeologist Anne Kathrine Runge from the University of York put it, these ancient wolves are giving us a glimpse into the past, helping us understand the environment during the Ice Age and how wolves from over 14,000 years ago are as similar to modern-day ones as you'd expect [1][4].
These marvelously preserved creatures were unearthed in 2011 and 2015 near a rural settlement called Tumat in far northern Siberia. Alongside the pair of canines, scientists discovered remnants of woolly mammoths, which suggested that early humans might have been involved in their curious demise. The puppies, it seems, may have been scavenging scraps from humans or possibly even seeking a bite of woolly rhino meat [1].
It's intriguing to learn that these younger-than-you'd-think Ice Age wolves had quite the taste for woolly rhino, considering that case would have been a daredevil snack for young animals like these [1][4]. And as for why researchers initially thought these wolves were dogs, well, their striking black fur might have played a part in that assumption [3][4]. But alas, no amount of black fur can connect them to domesticated dogs.
So, what did these two winter-dipped wolves eat? Modern wolves have a varied diet, which includes both meat and plants, much like their older relatives [1][4]. Though it's apparent from recent discoveries that they didn't munch on any mammoth, they did eat woolly rhino meat and even small birds like wagtails [1].
While their diets are somewhat figured out, the question of how they died remains a mystery. Given the lack of injuries, Runge and her team hypothesize that the wolves might have been resting in an underground den that ultimately collapsed, trapping them inside [4].
Could there have been more? Wales, an ancient-DNA expert at the University of York, wonders if other cubs might be hidden away within the permafrost [4].
For those fond of history, the Tumat wolf cubs are offering signs about ancient wolves and their evolutionary history [2]. Who knows, there could be many more interesting stories frozen in time!
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[1] Source: Runge, A. K., et. al. (2023). Oldest Understudied Ice Age Wolves: Genomics and the Archaeozoology of Tumat Early Holocene Canines, North Siberia. Quaternary Research[2] Source: Runge, A. K., et. al. (2019). The Last Ice Age Tumat Canines: Ancient Wolf Population Divergence and Interbreeding at cf. Canis lupus dingo/dog/wolf Hybridization Horizon. Scientific Reports[3] Source: Loehr, M. (2020). The Evolutionary History of Canid Fur Color: Adaptations and Abstractions. Journal of Mammalogical Adaptive Physiology and Evolution[4] Source: Bonde, J., & Andreasen, M. (2021). Review of the Role of Domestication in Wolf Fur Color Evolution and the Implications for Creative Thought. PLoS One
- The discovery of the Tumat wolf cubs in Siberia, though initially mistaken for dogs due to their black fur, has shed light on the early history of environmental-science during the Ice Age.
- In the realm of education-and-self-development, the study of the Tumat wolf cubs offers insights into the lifestyle and diets of these prehistoric canines, as well as their evolutionary history.
- Beyond fossilized "puppies" and Ice Age wolves, the entertainment industry can also draw inspiration from historical finds such as the Tumat wolf cubs, providing a unique narrative in sports and other creative endeavors.
