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An ancient wolf cub, named Zhùr (means ‘wolf’ in the Hän language of the local Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people), lived approximately 57,000 years ago and died in its den during the collapse of the sediments; During its short life, it ate aquatic resources, and is related to the ancient gray wolves of Beringia and Siberia (Canis lupus), according to new research led by the University of Des Moines.
Meachen et al. report detailed morphometric, isotopic, and genetic analyzes of Zhùr that reveal details of its appearance, evolutionary relationships with other wolves, and a brief history of life and ecology. Image Credit: Meachen et al., doi: 10.1016 / j.cub.2020.11.011.
Measuring 41.7 cm (16.4 inches) from snout to base of tail and weighing 670 g, Zhùr is the most complete wolf mummy known.
It was discovered in July 2016 in melting permafrost in the Klondike Gold Fields near Dawson City, Yukon, Canada.
His mummified corpse was recovered along a small tributary of Last Chance Creek during hydraulic thaw that exposed the permafrost sediment in which it was preserved.
The conservation of Zhùr was exceptional, from the papillae of his lips to his skin and fur.
“We believe he was in his lair and was killed instantly by the collapse of the lair,” said lead author Dr. Julie Meachen, a researcher in the Department of Anatomy at Des Moines University.
“Our data showed that she was not starving and that she was around 7 weeks old when she died, so we feel a little better knowing that the poor girl didn’t suffer for long.”
By studying stable isotopes of hair and tooth samples from Zhùr, Dr. Meachen and her colleagues were able to determine that her mother had a diet rich in aquatic resources.
That likely meant seasonal fish consumption from the Klondike River, which still has a modern spawning population of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).
“Normally when you think of wolves in the Ice Age, you think of them eating bison or musk oxen or other large animals on land,” Dr. Meachen said.
“One thing that surprised us was that it was eating aquatic resources, particularly salmon.”
Through DNA testing of Zhùr and 29 other ancient and current wolves, the scientists were also able to connect their genetics to ancient gray wolves from Beringia and Siberia, as well as modern gray wolves.
That includes individuals from both Eurasia and North America, highlighting the connections maintained between those continents as the animals moved across the Bering Land Bridge.
“We have been asked why she was the only wolf found in the den and what happened to her mother or her siblings,” Dr. Meachen said.
“It could be that she was a unique puppy. Or the other wolves weren’t in the den during the collapse. Unfortunately, we will never know. “
“I feel a sense of privilege and gratitude to be able to work on a piece like this,” said co-author Dr. Matthew Wooller, director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“One positive side of climate change is that we can see more of them.”
The team article was published in the magazine Current biology.
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Julie Meachen et al. 2020. A mummified Pleistocene gray wolf cub. Current biology 30 (24): 1467-R1468; doi: 10.1016 / j.cub.2020.11.011
