From perfectly preserved ponies to ancient
baby tiger cubs, here are 10 of the most amazing animals frozen in time! 10. The Yuka Mammoth The Yuka mammoth is one of the most well known
and scientifically valuable animals that have ever been found. It was discovered in 2010 within the Siberian
permafrost on the coast of the Laptev Sea in Russia. The most unusual thing about this 39,000-year-old
mammoth was that it was mummified, and had the most in-tact mammoth brain ever found,
with folds and blood vessels still visible. Finding specimens like this is incredibly
helpful to understanding the species. Studies of the brain showed it to be very
similar to modern day elephants, and also led to researchers to developing better ways
of storing mammoths in the future when new ones are found. Along with the Yuka mammoth, a number of other
ones have been found in the region, although not in as good condition, and have been highly
sought after by researchers for a different purpose. Because of their relatively intact DNA, and
their status as an intriguing extinct animal that is very similar to some that exist today,
the mammoth is a great candidate for bringing a species back from extinction using cutting
edge technology. It is believed that with a bit of luck and
perseverance, we might once again see these giants alive and well, and maybe within just
a few years! I would definitely love to see that! And now for number 9, but first remember to
hit that subscribe button!! More videos coming soon! 9. Moose It’s rare enough to find an animal preserved
in ice, but rarer still is the apparent freezing of two animals when they’re interacting
with each other. Well this is what a couple of hikers found
in Alaska in 2016. Beneath 8 inches of ice was the stunning sight
of two moose fighting each other, clearly so engrossed in their tussle that they failed
to notice the approaching frost. In the fall, males tend to be more aggressive
towards each other, likely due to territorial disputes or to gain the attention of a female,
and at some point these two managed to get their antlers tangled. They probably drowned in the cold water before
being frozen over as temperatures fell. Soon after their discovery, the moose were
removed from the ice by local enthusiasts who wanted to preserve the unusual find forever. 8. Fish As a fish living in water, ice can be both
a blessing and a curse. It’s the unique property of ice floating
on top of water that helps to insulate warmth and allow fish to survive falling temperatures,
but they aren’t always so lucky. In 2014, a sharp cold eastern wind sent temperatures
plummeting very quickly around the island of Lovund in Norway, and instantly froze parts
of the ocean. Unfortunately for a large shoal of fish, thought
to be attempting to escape a predator at the time, there was no chance to avoid the approaching
ice, and they were frozen in place. The ice sheet was so thick that it was perfectly
safe for people to walk across, and capture these amazing images of thousands of fish
frozen in time. This event had a major impact on the local
ecosystem, because birds were unable to find any food, so the skies were strangely silent
until the ice finally thawed. 7. Yukagir Bison Siberia is one of the coldest places on earth
that has been regularly inhabited for millennia. This makes it the perfect place to find frozen
animals like the Yuka mammoth, and close by there was another discovery in 2011, the mummified
remains of a Steppe Bison- the ancestor to the modern bison. Discovered by a tribe in the Yana-Indigirka
Lowland, the bison was remarkably intact, with its brain and other organs almost perfectly
preserved. This is the most complete Steppe Bison ever
to be found, and has allowed researchers to extensively study its brain, heart, digestive
system and blood vessels, despite it being well over 9000 years old. With no visible signs of injury, it is thought
that the lack of body fat around its abdomen is a clue as to how it died. Most likely from starvation as a result of
the rapidly changing environment in the area at the time. 6. Selerikan Pony In 1968, gold miners digging tunnels, about
30 feet below the surface of the Indigirka River in Siberia, found something surprising-
two legs and a tail of a pony sticking through the roof of one of their tunnels. Experts were called in from the Zoological
institute of St. Petersburg to help recover the full animal, which they managed to do,
apart from its head. The body turned out to be of a Przewalski
(prez walski) Horse, that nowadays is only found in Mongolia, and amazingly this one
appeared to have died about 35,000 years ago. Analysis of the remains suggested that the
horses lived relatively similar then to how they still do today. The stomach was full of grass, sedge, herbs
and woody plants, and because it was full, it’s believed that it died a quick death. The position it was found in perhaps provides
the greatest clue as to how it met its end, with its forelegs stretched out straight and
its hind legs pointing downwards, it seems as if this horse had managed to get itself
trapped in a bog with no way of escaping. 5. Kolyma Woolly Rhinoceros There is more going on in Siberia than you
thought! In 2007, the receding ice in Siberia revealed
yet another amazing specimen, this time the remains of a woolly rhinoceros. They were once one of the most common large
mammals to roam Eurasia, but because they lived about 39,000 years ago, it’s very
rare to find a preserved carcass that is of any value. This female found about 20 feet deep in the
Kolyma river, though, has taught researchers a lot of how this creature used to live. From analysing the body they were able to
determine that the woolly rhinos were herbivores that had a diet of mainly cereals. They were about the same size as a Javan Rhinoceros,
and had long bodies, short legs, a flattened front horn and very thick skin and fur to
help withstand the cold. They were quite heavy, about 1.5 tons, and
had much shorter tails and ears than modern day Rhinos. It’s now thought that the reason the woolly
Rhinoceros went extinct was, in part, because they could not adapt to the cold when larger
amounts of snow fell than usual. The combination of their weight, which pushed
them deeper into the snow, as well as their short legs, meant that they would have gotten
stuck in snowdrifts quite easily, with no way out. This is likely what happened to the Kolyma
Rhino, and a big factor that would have led to the species ultimate extinction. 4. Tardigrade The next animal on this list hasn’t made
it because of the length of time it’s been frozen, but more because of the scientific
importance involved with its discovery. Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are
tiny water dwelling creatures that grow to less than 1 millimeter in size and are able
to exist in extreme conditions. To do this, they slow down their bodily processes,
or even shut them down completely for long periods of time. This makes them uniquely capable of surviving
cold conditions, and in 2014 they helped researchers break a record. After collecting specimens from some moss
plants in Antarctica in 1983, they were taken back to a laboratory where they were stored
at -20 degrees Celsius, or -4 degrees Fahrenheit. This would be enough to kill pretty much everything
on earth, but 30 years later they were defrosted and brought back to life- the first time anything
has knowingly continued to live after such a long period on ice. Both an egg and a living animal were brought
back, which laid a further 14 eggs that successfully hatched with no signs of deformities or abnormalities. While these creatures have evolved to withstand
such harsh conditions, the fact that they were able to survive has helped scientists
understand the effects that freezing temperatures have on living tissue, and will help develop
techniques to prolong our own ability to cope with the cold. 3. Foxes It’s not just ancient species that get caught
in ice, and it seems one creature quite often found frozen in time is the fox. No-one’s quite sure why they are so prone
to becoming entombed in ice, but hardly a cold snap seems to go by without a stunning
image of a fox doing the rounds. It’s something that happens during unexpectedly
cold weather, when animals simply get caught by the rapidly freezing waters. This year in Germany, for example, a German
hunter found a fox frozen within the Danube river. Rather than leaving it be, he did what every
self respecting hunter would do, and carved the fox out of the river and displayed the
giant ice cube in front of his hotel as a warning to the dangers of cold weather. Maybe it’s to do with the graceful nature
of these creatures, but they are by far the most common animals seen in ice- maybe because
they like to pounce so much, head first! They’d probably be better off sticking to
warmer climates in the future! 2. The Tumat Puppy The village of Tumat in the Sakha republic
of Russia is another place that is covered in permafrost, and was the site of a rare
discovery in 2015. Known as the Tumat Puppy, it’s thought to
be a long extinct species of dog that became frozen well over 12,000 years ago. The thing that surprised scientists the most
was the almost perfect preservation of the body. The brain was near perfect, and initial tests
suggested about 70 to 80% of it’s body was still in tact. It’s thought to have been related to the
Tumat Dog, another creature that was found nearby in 2011, and likely linked to a human
settlement that overlooked the nearby river around the same time. Both sets of remains have given hope that
they can inform us on the conditions at the time and types of food that were available,
as well as the possibility that one day we might actually be able to bring them back
to life. And we could all have prehistoric puppies
of our very own! 1. Cave Lions And once again, back to the permafrost of
Siberia, this time to the Yakutia Republic. After exploring an area of thick ice, locals
found an animal that people knew about only from from fossils, the Eurasian cave lion. Even more remarkably, they found two of them,
probably young twins, and they were some of the most perfectly preserved creatures of
any type that have ever been discovered, despite being more than 30,000 years old. The cubs are thought to have died at less
than a week old because their den collapsed. Which explains why one of them has been crushed. This species was one of the largest lions
to ever live on the planet, with a shoulder height of almost 4 feet. They would have preyed on reindeer, horses,
and woolly mammoths that roamed the same area. It’s not certain why this species ultimately
became extinct, but the prevailing theories focus on the dwindling food supplies in the
region for such large carnivores as a result of the cooling climate and the effect of humans
hunting. These cubs were studied before being added
to an exhibition of animals that have been found in the permafrost, allowing them to
continue being frozen in time for generations to come. Thanks for watching!! Would you like to see prehistoric animals
brought back to life? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to subscribe and give this video a
thumbs up if you enjoyed it! See you next time, byeeeee
