A juvenile mammoth, nicknamed ‘Yuka,’ was unearthed from the Siberian ice near the Arctic Ocean and shows signs of having been butchered by ancient peoples.

The remarkably well-preserved frozen carcass was discovered in Siberia as part of an expedition financed by BBC/Discovery Channel and is believed to be at least 10,000 years old, if not more. If further studies confirm the preliminary findings, it would be the first mammoth carcass to reveal signs of human interaction in the region.

The carcass is in such good condition that a significant portion of its flesh is still intact, preserving its pinkish color. The rich reddish hue of Yuka’s shaggy fur also remains.

“This is the first relatively complete mammoth carcass, meaning a body with preserved soft tissues, that shows evidence of human association,” said Daniel Fisher, curator and director of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan, to Discovery News.

Fisher, who is also a professor, worked with an international team of experts to analyze Yuka. French mammoth hunter Bernard Buigues, from the scientific organization ‘Mammothus,’ saved the specimen from falling into the hands of private collectors.

Although carbon dating is still underway, researchers believe Yuka died at least 10,000 years ago but could be much older. The animal was about two and a half years old when it died.

Fisher described what likely transpired on that fateful day:

“It seems that Yuka was chased by one or more lions or another large predator, judging by the deep scratches and unhealed wounds on the skin and bite marks on the tail,” said Fisher. “Apparently, Yuka fell and broke one of the hind legs. At this point, humans may have intervened to control the carcass, sacrificing a large part of the animal and removing portions for immediate use.

“In fact, it’s possible that they reburied the rest of the carcass to keep it in reserve for possible later use. What remains now would be ‘remains’ that were never recovered.”

He explained that the extracted parts include most of Yuka’s central core body mass, including organs, vertebrae, ribs, associated musculature, and part of the flesh from the upper part of the legs. The lower parts of each leg and the trunk remain intact.

Buigues added that it seems humans were particularly interested in the animal’s fat and its large bones, which they kept near the carcass’s body. He believes that a ritual involving the bones may have taken place.

Kevin Campbell from the University of Manitoba also studied Yuka. Campbell published the famous genetic code of mammoth hemoglobin years ago.

“Most preserved mammoth specimens in permafrost consist solely of bones or bone fragments, currently providing little new information about the species’ life biology, even if DNA can be extracted and sequenced from these samples,” said Campbell. “This extremely rare find of an almost complete specimen, like the discovery of the baby mammoth Lyuba in 2007, will be a great help to researchers, as it will assist in linking observed phenotypes (morphological features we can see) with the genotype (DNA sequences).”

This information could help reveal whether mammoths had the same or different hair colors as humans. An intriguing and controversial application would be bringing a mammoth back to life through cloning.

Campbell supports the pursuit of that goal, stating that it “could well lead to new and significant discoveries in bioengineering.” Buigues also expresses his support, saying, “I am not against having a mammoth in my garden in the future.”

Tim Walker, producer and director of an upcoming BBC/Discovery Channel program called “Woolly Mammoth,” featuring Yuka, told Discovery News that cloning a mammoth could take years or even decades.

“Then, if it were to happen, would it not feel lonely and sad without another mammoth? They were, after all, social animals.”