Frozen Fur Ball Reveals Remarkable Secret, It’s 30,000 Years Old, Say Scientists

Long before humans walked the Earth, our world looked remarkably different. Ancient artifacts and discoveries from the past provide us with captivating glimpses into a world that often feels beyond our wildest imagination. Just consider, for instance, a recent discovery by scientists: a frozen fur ball that has endured for 30,000 years, a mysterious artifact brimming with untold stories. What secrets could it possibly hold?

The fur ball is a 30,000-year-old squirrel.

The remarkable discovery was made near Hester Creek in the Klondike Gold Fields, Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory. This perfectly preserved squirrel, in its curled-up position, appears to have met its end while nestled in slumber, possibly preparing to hibernate for the winter. Encased in permafrost for millennia, it remained in exceptional condition, akin to a prehistoric refrigerator preserving its tissues.

The Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre contributed to this revelation by conducting an X-ray examination of the specimen, revealing an astonishingly intact skeleton. In the near future, this incredible find will be put on public display at the Beringia Centre, giving people the opportunity to witness this ancient marvel up close.

Grant Zazula, a paleontologist for the Yukon government, expressed his awe, stating, “I study bones all the time, and they’re exciting, they’re really neat. But when you see an animal that’s perfectly preserved, that’s 30,000 years old, and you can see its face and its skin and its hair and all that, it’s just so visceral. It brings it so to life.”

The Yukon region in Canada has proven to be a treasure trove of prehistoric remnants, frozen in time since the Ice Age. In recent years, astonishing finds such as a well-preserved baby mammoth and a mummified wolf puppy have captured the world’s attention.

The baby mammoth, uncovered by miners in the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory just last year, retained much of its fur and skin, providing invaluable insights into the lives of these ancient creatures. Similarly, in 2020, the discovery of a tiny 57,000-year-old mummified wolf puppy astonished researchers as it still possessed intact soft tissues and bore its teeth, appearing as if it was frozen in a snarl.

During the Ice Age, this region was home to a diverse array of magnificent animals, including wild horses, woolly mammoths, Beringian lions, and giant short-faced bears. Thanks to the collection of frozen characters that have been unearthed, scientists and enthusiasts alike are gaining a deeper understanding of this unique and wondrous prehistoric ecosystem.

While we may picture the past as an unfamiliar place to inhabit, it’s intriguing to note just how much it resembles the evolved world we now inhabit. Mother Nature consistently leaves us in awe with her wonders.