Lyuba the Baby Mammoth

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide

In May 2007, a baby woolly mammoth was discovered exposed on the Yuribei River in Yamal Peninsula of Russia, by a nomadic reindeer herder named Yuri Khudi. One of five baby mammoths discovered over the course of thirty years, Lyuba ("Love" in Russian) was a nearly perfectly preserved, healthy female of about one to two months old, who probably suffocated in the soft river mud and was preserved in permafrost. Her discovery and investigation was examined in the National Geographic documentary film, Waking the Baby Mammoth, which premiered in April 2009.

This photo essay discusses some of the intensive research and questions surrounding this momentous discovery.

Previous

• Waking the Baby Mammoth
• Discovery Site of Lyuba, the Baby Mammoth
• How Did Lyuba the Baby Mammoth Die?
• Microscopic Surgery for Lyuba

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