Slept Through Winter, 30,000 Years Passed... Squirrel Discovered as Mummy

Well-preserved in Ice Age Permafrost
Optimal for Hibernation Research... Could It Be the Key to Space Travel?

A squirrel that had been hibernating for 30,000 years was discovered as a mummy.

According to local media including Canadian CBC News on the 29th of last month (local time), the squirrel was found by miners in 2018 in the Klondike region of Yukon Territory. The Arctic ground squirrel is a common species in Canada and makes underground nests for hibernation.

Investigations revealed that the squirrel's body was an Arctic ground squirrel that lived during the Ice Age 30,000 years ago. It is presumed to have died frozen while curled up in hibernation.

Mummified Arctic ground squirrel.
[Photo by CBC News Canada]

Grant Zazula, a paleontologist with the Yukon government, said, "It was hard to recognize until the small hands, claws, tail, and ears became visible."

Zazula noted that the significance of this Arctic ground squirrel lies in the fact that, unlike mammoths and others, it survived in Yukon after the Ice Age.

Zazula said, "(The Arctic ground squirrel) is a resilient animal because it had to endure numerous changes in the past," adding, "Therefore, it is important to understand how future climate change will affect these animals."

X-ray image of an Arctic ground squirrel carcass.
[Photo by CBC News Canada]

An X-ray image revealed the bone structure of the curled-up squirrel.

Zazula explained, "Although 30,000 years have passed, it is very well preserved because it was trapped in permafrost."

The research team stated, "It was a young squirrel and is presumed to have died in its first year of hibernation," adding, "The cause of death is unclear."

Used as a case study for hibernation research... Could it open the way for long-distance human space travel?

The Arctic ground squirrel.
[Photo by CBC News, Canada]

The Arctic ground squirrel is distributed in northern Canada including Yukon, Alaska, and Siberia. To preserve body heat and withstand the cold, the Arctic ground squirrel spends 8 to 9 months of the year in hibernation.

During hibernation, its body temperature drops to minus 3 degrees Celsius, maintaining the lowest body temperature among existing mammals. Even when the body temperature falls below freezing during hibernation, it does not suffer side effects such as blood freezing or loss of muscle and bone density.

Because of this, NASA is currently funding research on Arctic ground squirrel hibernation being conducted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. If this secret is uncovered, humans may be able to undertake long-distance space travel in a hibernation state in the future.

Meanwhile, in June last year, the body of a baby mammoth that died during the Ice Age 30,000 years ago was discovered in the same region. This mammoth was also well preserved, buried in permafrost.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.