VIDEO ⟩ Scientists study the corpse of a 3,500-year-old bear found in Siberia

“This find is absolutely unique – the corpse of an ancient brown bear,” said researcher Maxim Cheprasov.

In 2020, the female bear was found by reindeer herders on the island of Great Lyakhov, an uninhabited island in the extreme north of the Russian Federation.

The low air temperature helped preserve the bear’s soft tissues for 3,460 years, as well as the remains of its last meal – bird feathers and plants.

The scientists then studied the bear’s brain, internal organs and conducted a series of microbiological and genetic studies.

Bears are typical inhabitants of large forest massifs. In the mixed-wood forest zone, habitats of larger and older conifers and various mixed-wood forests bordering overgrown clearings, burn areas, swamps and water bodies are preferred. Winter hibernation nests are set up in natural hiding places, as dry as possible and near water.