'Gasps' as Scientists Reveal Preserved Baby Woolly Mammoth

She is over 30,000 years old and her preservation is amazing. She has tufts of fur and her trunk is complete and flexible. She looks like she died recently, looking at the first photograph from where she was found.

The name Nun cho ga was chosen by the elders.

The words "Nun go" are from the Hn language, according to the heritage director of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in government. It is definitely big. The word 'ga' is used as a synonym for animal.

The mammoth was found on the lands of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in. The appearance of this little mammoth last week is significant. The longest day of the year was June 21, when National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada took place.

It was just another day at the office for some. A month and a half into his job at McCaughan Family's Treadstone Gold company, Mudry was operating an excavator with a ripping attachment that cut chunks out of a cliff of permafrost. He was looking for gold. He stopped what he was doing when he saw something strange fall out of the permafrost. He went to investigate after getting out. This wasn't just a skull, it was an animal with skin, eyes, and a trunk. He got on the radio and said he had found a body.

McCaughan immediately sent an email to Zazula after seeing the animal for the first time. There was a photo of the baby mammoth lying on it's side.

Zazula was not aware of what was about to happen. He said he had coffee before he and his family went to participate in National Indigenous Day events. He heard McCaughan's message.

He said in a video interview that he had a lot of thoughts. I didn't know if this was real.

He ran up the stairs to his wife, Victoria Castillo, instructor of heritage and culture at the university, and said, "Look at this." Life has changed for me.

Are the first priorities? The baby mammoth is going to be cold stored. The baby mammoth was six hours away from where it was exposed. He couldn't get there in time and the camp didn't have a big enough freezer to hold her. After sending McCaughan instructions on how to temporarily keep her preserved, he contacted everyone he could think of, including local scientists and members of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in.

Jeff Bond was sitting in his truck. He was working with a group from the University of calgary as a surficial geologists. He suggested a change of scenery for Dan Shugar, associate professor of geoscience and director of the Environmental Science Program. He noticed that Grant was in need of help after flipping through his phone. He is familiar with the many mines in the area and is the perfect person for the job.

He said that he had the keys in the ignition and that he had to throw everyone in the car. It was a good time to do some initial work on the animal and to preserve it. I told everyone to change their plans. We are driving an hour and a half south into the gold fields.

It was a once in a life time opportunity. The call for help was answered by the team, along with Bond and Cronmiller. Bond described their race to the site as a rescue mission, one that would include documenting the site before it was destroyed.

McCaughan brought them to the excavator bucket in which the mammoth lay, where they removed the tarp, space blanket, and sleeping bag that were keeping her warm. The first time Bond saw Nun cho ga, his voice was clear. It took your breath away. This little creature didn't have much of a chance and that's what struck me the most. I was shocked and amazed when I saw it. I didn't think it was true. There is a perfectly preserved mammoth in front of me. I don't think that will happen in my career. It has never been done ever.

Basiuk felt like he was overwhelmed by the adventure. She collected the fur that was left in the area where Nun cho ga used to live. She wrote that it was a game of patience and strength as the area where the hair was coming from smelled rancid. I don't know if I'll ever be able to describe the smell, but it's not leaving my memory any time soon. I was impressed by the different colors of the hair, from red brown to black to grey, with some sections fully intact with the skin attached.

Shugar and Bodtker were able to find more than one specimen. A few bones from Ice Age bisons were found, as well as lots of plant matter in various stages of decomposition, which is very useful for reconstructing the environment at the time that Nun cho ga lived.

Strong winds and a black sky forced the team to pack up. Scientists and miners scrambled for cover as lightning and rain ended activity at the mine.

A large local freezer was located by Zazula. Bond and his colleagues went to get her. The mammoths body was cut in half during the initial excavation. She was brought inside by the team. Bond had a hard time maintaining his composure in the video interview. He held her in his arms when he lifted the top half of the baby mammoth. He paused for a second. He cried as he said that he still gets emotional.

The members of the Hwch'in and Zazula came to see her. Bond said he took Nun cho ga out of the freezer and hid her under a tarp.

The moment the tarp was removed there were gasps.

Her initial reaction was difficult to explain. There is a lot of emotion. We had a circle with the elders and presented it to them. There was nothing to say after we opened the tarp. That is a long time. I have to be quiet for Grant and the elders. It will be important to look after and follow how we will respect it in each of us. It is very strong.

Nun cho ga needed to be blessed by the elders. That was powerful. It was mind blowing. The room was so powerful that you couldn't even say a word.

She lay entombed in the permafrost for over 30,000 years. They tried to picture the animal as it might have been in life. How do we relate to it as a First Nations person? She said that they were there at that time as well.

Advait Jukar was not involved in the find. He wrote that the ancestors of today's First Nations Peoples coexisted with the mammoth. They saw the animals and hunted them. Their descendants were involved in the discovery of an animal that is connected to their past and to the story of people in the Americas. A collaboration between First Nations, industry, and scientists should look like this one. It's built on trust and respect.

It didn't happen overnight. The events that took place in this find are exciting, but they weren't random. The miners didn't have to talk to Zazula. They could have just left it alone. It is rare for paleontologists to reach out to or include Indigenous Peoples in their discoveries. Castillo said that the decision-making is being done by the First Nations and that everyone is taking it slow to be sure that everything is done in an ethical and culturally appropriate way.

She said that Grant was aware that he had to engage with all of the parties at once. The decolonization of research is an example of how it has been done, and I think that was important.

Jody Beaumont, the implementation manager of the Tr'ondk Hwch'in Government, talked about the discovery of an Ice Age wolf pup. She said that this would not have been handled the same way if it had been 20 years ago. It shows the growth that a lot of people have had in the community, as people with different ideas and perspectives.

It is difficult for scientists to realize that there are other views. It's important to understand that other communities see things differently and that you need to step out of your comfort zone. I hope that this is going to be an amazing example of how community-based research can be used.

The relationship between the mining community and paleontology has existed for decades, beginning with the late Richard Harington in the 1960s. The partnership between Zazula and the Whitehorse miners has resulted in a large amount of fossils of extinct animals. The relationship between the First Nations, the scientific and the mining communities has been shown to be improved by this partnership.

This discovery is even more meaningful for Zazula. This is me, personally, on this, I'm Ukrainian. My family is made up of Ukrainians. My cousins are in the Ukranian area. It has been hard for me and my family. The timing of the appearance of a mammoth in Canada and the fact that all the other mammoths in the world are now behind an Iron Curtain is very significant.

McCaughan and his team stopped all operations at the location where the mammoth was found to allow scientists to do further research in the area where Nun cho ga lay entombed for thousands of years. A rich environment full of vegetation at the bottom of the cliff is an important evidence of climate change through time.

The base where the mammoth is coming from is 35-40,000 years old. You are becoming cooler into the 30,000-year framework. We are getting more grassland on the landscape and we are getting less organics. We hit the volcanic ash at 300,000 years ago. The marker is a perfect one. Everything below that is older.

Zazula believes that climate change has the potential to unite people of all ages. Climate change was certainly a factor in the extinction of this extinct animal.

Zazula said that Nun cho ga is linking the past of the Ice Age and the history of the Tr'ondk Hw.

Bond believes that the mammoth would have crossed a fan. It looks like she is associated with a stream channel on this fan surface. It is a very muddy environment and it will make any steep banks that are vertical impossible to climb.

He's collected samples for testing.

The location of the mummy gives us a lot of opportunities to study the environment the mammoth lived in and what happens after it died.

There will be paleontological work at the site over the summer. The baby mammoth discovery has led to the discovery of more fossils, includingbison, horse, and mammoth bones.

Zazula said that he has been thinking about the science piece for a long time. I might meet a woolly mammoth one day, but I never thought it would happen. It happened. It happened because of the gold miner. The relationships that are being built between scientists and gold miners are the reason for it. This was found due to that. She was brought here to unify us.

The saving of Nun cho ga is a good thing. There are many different stories that are taking place. She said how grateful the First Nation is to McCaughan. It is a good thing that we are all working together. It is possible that she appeared for us as well. We need to let go of the things that got in the way. It is good for our youth to see that for the future.

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Jeanne Timmons is a writer who writes about paleontology and archaeology at mostlymammoths.wordpress.com.