Gold Miner Stumbles Upon Rare Ice Age Discovery

The discovery, described as "significant," likely dates to over 30,000 years ago.

A Canadian gold miner uncovered a mummified, Ice Age woolly mammoth body during an excavation on Tuesday.

The young woolly mammoth, named Nun Cho Ga (big baby animal) by the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation band, is a discovery that joins a number of other Ice Age finds, according to a press release.

The mummified body has skin and hair, which is rare.

People have found mummified mammoth remains in the past, including a partial mammoth calf uncovered in 1948 and an infant mammoth, similar in size to Num Cho Ga, found in Syria in 2007, CBS News reported.

Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula said it has been a dream of his to come face-to-face with a “real woolly mammoth,” CBS News reported.

“That dream came true today. Nun Cho Aa is beautiful and one of the most incredible mummified Ice Age animals ever discovered in the world. I am excited to get to know her more,” Zazula said.

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