Incredible photos reveal severed head of 40,000-year-old Ice Age wolf found frozen in Siberia

INCREDIBLE photos show the severed head of a 40,000-year-old Ice Age wolf  – and the beast is still snarling. The predator still had its brain intact when it was found frozen in Siberia. Scientists described the remains as a “unique discovery of the first-ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf with its tissue preserved”. […]

INCREDIBLE photos show the severed head of a 40,000-year-old Ice Age wolf  – and the beast is still snarling.

The predator still had its brain intact when it was found frozen in Siberia.

Albert Protopopov/The Siberian Times

The Ice Age beast is still snarling after 40,000 years[/caption]

Albert Protopopov/The Siberian Times

The head was found in permafrost by the Tirekhtyakh River and is thought to be an ancient hunter’s trophy[/caption]

Scientists described the remains as a “unique discovery of the first-ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf with its tissue preserved”.

The head – believed to be a trophy of an ancient hunter – was found in permafrost by the Tirekhtyakh River by local man Pavel Efimov.

His astonishing discovery was revealed at a Tokyo exhibition of remains of frozen beasts, including woolly mammoths.

SNARLING

The wolf, with a thick “mammoth-like” coat and impressive fangs, seems to have been larger than today’s Siberian wolves.

Russian scientist Dr Albert Protopopov said: “This is a unique discovery of the first-ever remains of a fully grown Pleistocene wolf with its tissue preserved.

“We will be comparing it to modern-day wolves to understand how the species has evolved and to reconstruct its appearance.”

The head is almost 16 inches long, around half the full length of a modern wolf in Siberia.

It was dated as older than 40,000 years by Japanese scientists.

Experts at the Swedish Museum of Natural History will examine the Pleistocene predator’s DNA, reports The Siberian Times.

The wolf is displayed alongside an Ice Age cave lion cub named Spartak.

Naoki Suzuki, professor of palaeontology and medicine with the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, said: “Their muscles, organs and brains are in good condition.

“We want to assess their physical capabilities and ecology by comparing them with the lions and wolves of today.”

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