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Scientists Found the Entire Woolly Rhino Genome Inside the Stomach of an Ancient Wolf Pup

created: Jan. 16, 2026, 1:30 p.m. | updated: Jan. 19, 2026, 12:35 p.m.

For the first time, scientists sequenced the genome of an Ice Age animal using the remains found in the stomach of another animal. The team found a sudden decline occurred in the woolly rhino population before extinction about 14,000 years ago. After 14,400 years, the final meal of a Siberian wolf pup has contributed massively to science and our understanding of the now-extinct woolly rhinoceros. Over a decade ago, a pair of Siberian wolf pups were pulled from the permafrost near the village of Tumat in northeast Siberia. One pup had its final meal still preserved inside its stomach, a piece of flesh from the now-extinct woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis).

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