In a series of stunning archaeological finds, giant prehistoric beasts have been unearthed, as two remarkably preserved baby mammoth skeletons have been discovered in near-perfect condition. These discoveries, made possible by the thawing Siberian and Canadian permafrost, have provided scientists with an unprecedented look into the lives of these long-extinct creatures.

The first major discovery, in 2007, was of a baby woolly mammoth nicknamed “Lyuba” in Siberia. She was found by a reindeer herder and was so well-preserved that she still had her eyelashes, her trunk, and traces of her mother’s milk in her stomach. Scientists believe the young calf, who was about a month old when she died, suffocated after getting stuck in deep mud, which then froze and acted as a perfect preservative.

More recently, in 2022, a similar discovery was made in the Yukon, Canada. A gold prospector unearthed another baby mammoth, a female nicknamed “Nun cho ga” by the local Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation. Like Lyuba, Nun cho ga’s body was incredibly preserved, with her skin and hair intact. Her discovery has fueled further research into the genetics and migration patterns of woolly mammoths, as well as providing a new, tangible connection to a lost world.