Scientists have reconstructed the genome of a woolly rhinoceros from a fragment of flesh found in the stomach of a wolf pup that died 14,400 years ago in Siberia. The analysis reveals the rhino was genetically healthy, with no signs of inbreeding, challenging theories about the causes of its extinction. This discovery provides the closest genetic insight yet into the species just before it vanished.
In northern Siberia, near the town of Tumat in Russia, two wolf pups—known as the Tumat Puppies—were discovered preserved in permafrost. The first pup was found in 2011, and the second in 2015. Dissection of one pup's stomach contents revealed a small piece of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) flesh, preserved remarkably well after 14,400 years.
Edana Lord at Stockholm University described the fragment as looking 'like a piece of jerky with a bit of fluff,' noting that it still had hair attached, which was unusual. Initially, the yellowish fur suggested it might be from a cave lion, but DNA analysis confirmed it was from a female woolly rhino. This is the first instance of sequencing an entire ancient genome from stomach contents, according to Love Dalén, also at Stockholm University.
The reconstructed genome showed no evidence of inbreeding or reduced genetic diversity. Researchers compared it to woolly rhino genomes from 18,000 and at least 49,000 years ago, finding consistent health across time. This suggests the species was not suffering from genetic decline when it went extinct mere centuries later.
Debates over the woolly rhino's disappearance have centered on human hunting, climate change, or inbreeding. The team points to a rapid warming period, the Bølling–Allerød interstadial from 14,700 to 12,900 years ago, as the likely culprit, which transformed the rhino's habitat dramatically. Lord highlighted the rarity of the find: 'For us, many, many, many thousands of years later to have uncovered these beautifully preserved mummified wolf puppies... which has then shed light on an entirely different species, is very unique and cool.'
The study was published in Genome Biology and Evolution (DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaf239).