Well-preserved skeleton of woolly mammoth found in Siberian lake

A well-preserved skeleton of a woolly mammoth, which has some ligaments still attached to it, has been recovered from a lake in northern Siberia. Russian scientists are now working to retrieve it.

The animal's skull, the lower jaw, several ribs, and a foot fragment with sinews still intact were found by local reindeer herders in the shallows of Pechevalavato Lake on the Yamalo-Nenets region a few days ago.

Woolly mammoths are thought to have died out around 10,000 years ago. A small group, however, thinks some of them may have lived on longer in Alaska and on Russia’s Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast.

Scientists have retrieved more bones and also located more massive fragments protruding from the silt. They said it would take significant time and special equipment to recover the rest of the skeleton.

Siberia is, meanwhile, undergoing a heat wave and the UN weather agency warned Friday that average temperatures were 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) above average last month.