Ancient Puppy Found Perfectly Preserved

The 18,000-year-old puppy was found frozen in mud in eastern Russia.

A puppy that is said to be thousands of years old was found perfectly preserved and frozen in Russia.

Scientists in Russia said the puppy was found by locals last year in frozen mud near the city of Yakutsk. The scientists later named it Dogor, which means “friend.” After extracting a piece of its bone and running DNA tests, scientists said they discovered Dogor is around 18,000 years old and a male. The prehistoric puppy has all of his teeth, fur and limbs, which is “unusually well-preserved.”

Scientists are unable to determine whether Dogor is a dog or a wolf, which could mean he’s an ancestor to both. They believe he died at around two months old, because of his “milk teeth.”

Because of the effects of climate change, the far east part of Russia has experienced severe melting, which has exposed ancient animals that have been frozen for centuries. Mammoth tusks are usually discovered, which are said to be a huge consumer product in the Chinese market.

Drogor could help scientists determine the long-held theories between dogs and wolves. The debate on when dogs became domesticated and broke away from the wolf species has not yet been agreed upon in the scientific community, with many theories on how, where, and when dogs became friendly toward humans.