When a team of Russian researchers was analyzing the remains of a preserved 14,000-year-old puppy, they noticed an unusual patch of fur inside its stomach. After a few mitochondrial DNA reference checks, the team was surprised that the fur belonged to a woolly rhinoceros—'an almost perfect match.'
The puppy was discovered in Tumut, Siberia, in 2011. Preserved with its fur intact, the small canine body resembled either a dog or a wolf.
In Siberia, other teams of researchers have also discovered well-preserved cave lion cubs (Panthera spelaea) with yellow fur. Initially, the team assumed the patch of fur consumed by the puppy was the remains of a cub for having the same color until their results confirmed otherwise.
Scientists from Stockholm's Natural History Museum confirmed that the fur DNA was far from the cave lion, evolutionary geneticist Love Dalen. He had also worked with the team who discovered the cave lion cubs Spartak and Borris from about 43,000 years ago.
Woolly Rhinos
"It's completely unheard of. I'm not aware of any frozen, Ice Age carnivore where they have found pieces of tissue inside," said Dalen. The hairy tissue sample was radiocarbon-dated and was confirmed to be about 14,400 years old.
They've also radiocarbon-dated the puppy to be about 14,000, roughly the same time that woolly rhinoceros became extinct. "So, potentially, this puppy has eaten one of the last remaining woolly rhinos," Dalen explained.
During the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs from over five million to 11,000 years ago, woolly rhinos roamed in Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe. They were roughly the same size as modern-day rhinos with two horns and thick fur.
They thrived in grasslands and were seen in numerous paintings and sculptures during the Stone Age. Further evidence also revealed that the decline of their population was not due to being hunted by humans, but rather, from sudden climate changes during the Bølling-Allerød Interstadial (Greenland Interstadial)—a short warm and moist period before the last glacial period. By the last ice age, they were completely extinct.
Several frozen woolly rhino carcasses were discovered in Siberia while others were found in oil seeps in central Europe. The oldest woolly rhino was discovered on the Plateau of Tibet and was found to be over three million years old.
READ MORE: Cave Lions and Modern-Day Lions Are Separate Species
Mysterious Death
The team remains unsure how the small canine ate a piece of the ancient rhino, and the death of both creatures remain mysterious. Due to its massive size, it was unlikely that the puppy attacked or killed the woolly rhino.
Dalen also shared that the hairy tissue was not digested well, suggesting that the puppy died soon after it ate some woolly rhino. He speculated that an adult wolf—that is, assuming the puppy is a wolf—ate the rhino and left some for its cubs. Maybe, the cub crossed paths with a dead baby rhino and was attacked and killed by the mother rhino.
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