Decoded genome of meat in pup’s stomach helps scientists build picture of what caused extinction of species

Researchers have shed light on the final centuries of the woolly rhinoceros after studying a hairy lump of meat from the stomach of an ancient wolf cub that became mummified in the Siberian permafrost.

The beautifully preserved remains of a two-month-old female wolf cub were discovered in 2011 near the village of Tumat in northeastern Siberia. The animal is thought to have died 14,400 years ago when a landslide collapsed its den, trapping the cub and others inside.

The frigid conditions preserved the wolf for millennia and on examining the remains, scientists found its stomach contents were also intact. Part of the wolf’s last meal was a chunk of woolly rhino, a hefty herbivore that died out about 14,000 years ago.