Wolf Puppy Meal Reveals Woolly Rhinoceros Genome

About 14,400 years ago, a weeks-old wolf puppy roaming the Ice Age landscape of northeastern Siberia consumed its final meal — meat from a woolly rhinoceros. Preserved in permafrost near the village of Tumat, the puppy’s remains have now yielded a scientific first: the recovery of a complete woolly rhinoceros genome from undigested stomach contents, offering rare insight into the species’ final days.

Genome Recovered from Permafrost Discovery

Researchers extracted DNA from a chunk of undigested rhinoceros meat found in the stomach of the mummified wolf puppy. The remarkably preserved material enabled scientists to reconstruct a high-quality genome of the woolly rhinoceros, a cold-adapted herbivore that once roamed northern Europe and Asia. The findings shed new light on the biology and extinction dynamics of this iconic Ice Age species.

Insights into Extinction Dynamics

The recovered genome was compared with those of two other woolly rhinoceroses that lived approximately 18,000 and 49,000 years ago. The analysis showed that the species remained genetically healthy until very close to its extinction. There was no evidence of inbreeding or long-term population decline, suggesting that the woolly rhinoceros experienced a rapid collapse rather than a slow fade-out as the last Ice Age ended.

Climate Change as the Likely Cause

Scientists believe that abrupt climatic warming around 14,000 years ago led to the disappearance of the steppe-tundra ecosystem on which the woolly rhinoceros depended. This environmental shift likely triggered the species’ sudden extinction. Although humans had been present in the region for thousands of years, genetic data and limited archaeological evidence suggest that hunting pressure was not the primary driver.

Imporatnt Facts for Exams

• The woolly rhinoceros species name is Coelodonta antiquitatis.
• It went extinct around the end of the last Ice Age, about 14,000 years ago.
• Genome recovery was possible due to permafrost preservation.
• Rapid climate warming caused loss of steppe-tundra habitat.

Scientific Significance of the Study

The study, published in Genome Biology and Evolution, was led by evolutionary geneticist Solveig Gudjonsdottir, with co-senior author Love Dalén from the Centre for Palaeogenetics, a collaboration between Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The research demonstrates that high-quality genomes can be recovered even from poorly preserved biological material, opening new possibilities for understanding extinct species and past climate-driven extinctions.