An Arctic reindeer herder has stumbled upon the prehistoric remains of a baby woolly mammoth poking out of the permafrost, local officials said.
The herder said the carcass was as perfectly preserved as the mammoth calf Lyuba discovered in the same remote Yamalo-Nenetsk region four years ago, authorities said, adding that an expedition had set off hoping to confirm the "sensational" find.
"If it is true what is said about how it is preserved, this will be another sensation of global significance," expedition leader Natalya Fyodorova said in a statement on the region's official web site.
Scientists plan to fly the mammoth's remains to the regional capital, Salekhard, where it will be stored in a cooler to prevent the remains from decomposing.
Scientists worldwide were stunned by the discovery of Lyuba, named after the wife of the hunter who discovered her. Arctic ice kept the extinct specimen so immaculately preserved that although her shaggy coat was gone, her skin and internal organs were intact.
