New DNA analysis reveals an ice age wolf’s last meal
CNN • • science
Key Points:
- Scientists sequenced the entire genome of a woolly rhinoceros from DNA found in the stomach of a 14,000-year-old wolf pup preserved in Siberian permafrost, marking the first time an animal's complete genome was obtained this way.
- Analysis revealed that the woolly rhinoceros population remained genetically stable with no signs of inbreeding or genetic deterioration up until its rapid extinction, likely caused by climate warming at the end of the last ice age rather than human hunting.
- The wolf pups, initially thought to be early domesticated dogs, died when their den collapsed, preserving the undigested woolly rhino tissue that enabled this genomic research.
- Comparing this genome with two other woolly rhino
