Intact remains of a pair of lions, 12,000 years old, discovered.

Beneath the millennia-old ice of Siberia, the remains of two cave lion cubs are perfectly preserved, as if they were still alive, with their fur, skin, and internal organs intact.

The cave lion cub has retained its outer fur coat after 12,000 years under the ice. Photo: Siberian Times.

Fox News reported that scientists unveiled the intact remains of two cave lion cubs in Russia on November 17th. They were discovered under the ice in Yakutia in late summer. This marks the first sighting of this extinct species in over 10,000 years.

About the size of domestic cats, the two cave lion cubs are named Uyan and Dina, after the area where they were found in the Uyandina River region. The soft tissues of the two animals are so well preserved that researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences believe cloning is entirely possible. They are focusing on examining the cubs' internal organs and DNA to determine their origins.

According to researchers, the mother lion cubs placed them in the hole for protection, but a landslide covered the hole. The area remained unchanged until the Uyandina River suddenly moved, revealing cracks in the ice. A local resident named Yakov Androsov discovered the ice lens containing the two lions.

"Usually, all we find is the skeleton, if we're lucky they still have some collagen left. Occasionally, we also find animal droppings, but discovering the remains of an extinct animal from 12,000 years ago with its skin and internal organs still intact is incredible," shared Julie Meachen, a fossil processing expert at Des Moines University in the United States.

Cave lions were first identified in 1810. They lived approximately 10,000 to 300,000 years ago. Scientists do not yet know the exact number of this species, nor whether they belonged to the African tiger family. With this discovery, researchers hope to unravel the mysteries of cave lions and the Ice Age.

According to VnExpress