42,000-Yr-Old Foal Discovered in Serbian Ice, Scientists Baffled To Find 'Bloody' Surprise Inside It

Deep within the icy realm of Siberia’s Batagaika Crater, scientists unraveled a remarkable find—an astonishingly well-preserved foal frozen in permafrost for 42,000 years. This foal, belonging to the extinct Lena horse species, was remarkably in one piece, with skin, hair, hooves, and even internal organs preserved in terrific condition, allowing them to analyze prehistoric flora, fauna, and environmental conditions that existed during the Pleistocene era, stated Live Science. But, intriguingly, this foal held an even greater, more stunning revelation—one that would leave the researchers too stunned to speak.

During an autopsy of the prehistoric foal, the team at Russia’s North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) made a jaw-dropping discovery—the foal’s veins still contained liquid blood. Semyon Grigoriev, the head of the Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk noted, "A lot of mud and silt which the foal gulped during the last seconds of [the foal’s] life were found inside its gastrointestinal tract." Grigoriev further shared, "I think that even the unique preservation [of] blood is absolutely hopeless for cloning purposes since the main blood cells ... do not have nuclei with DNA. We [are] trying to find intact cells in muscle tissue and internal organs that are also very well-preserved." This finding broke previous records, as the oldest liquid blood ever recovered before this discovery belonged to a 32,200-year-old mammoth, stated Smithsonian Magazine.

As if this was not enough, the foal’s stellar preservation also extended to its bladder, which still contained prehistoric urine, further emphasizing the extraordinary conditions of the Siberian permafrost. Moreover, the foal was estimated to be only one to two weeks old when it met its untimely demise. Grigoriev noted, "An autopsy showed the foal carcass was extremely well-preserved, the body even without deformation…The hair cover also preserved most parts of the carcass, especially at the head and legs…Now we can say what color was the wool of the extinct horses of the Pleistocene era." What’s most interesting to note is that the foal’s coat remained intact, allowing scientists to determine its coloration— a bay-colored body with a dark mane and tail, stated Smithsonian magazine.

The groundbreaking discovery of liquid blood has sparked discussions about de-extinction—the possibility of bringing extinct species back to life. Scientists from NEFU collaborated with South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation to clone it. Grigoriev added, "As a rule, the blood coagulates or even turns to powder in the ancient remains of animals of the ice age, even if the carcass is preserved seems to be well…This is due to mummification when moisture and other biological fluids gradually evaporate over thousands of years, even if the remains are in the permafrost. The remains are preserved best if they are in the ice, as it was with our mammoth," stated CNN.

However, this is not a cakewalk. Unlike muscle cells, red blood cells lack nuclei and do not contain DNA. This clearly means the blood itself cannot be used for cloning. Instead, experts are focusing on finding intact cells within the foal’s muscles and internal organs. The ambition to clone Ice Age creatures is not new and only the future holds the result.