Cardiff Uni researchers crack woolly rhino mystery using the remains of an Ice Age wolf

Cardiff University researchers have helped uncover new details about why the woolly rhinoceros went extinct after DNA was recovered from the stomach of an Ice Age wolf.

Scientists extracted woolly rhino DNA from the preserved remains of a wolf that lived around 14,400 years ago, marking the first time the full genome of one Ice Age animal has been sequenced after being found inside another.

The wolf was discovered frozen, in permafrost near the village of Tumat in north-eastern Siberia. During an autopsy, researchers identified a small fragment of preserved tissue inside its stomach, and after genetic testing, later confirmed the tissue belonged to a woolly rhinoceros, making it one of the youngest known specimens of the species ever discovered.

Researchers from Cardiff University worked alongside teams from Stockholm University, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and other international institutions on the study.

Dr David Stanton, a researcher at Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences, said the discovery was unexpected, explaining: “It was a very unusual specimen to work on. It was initially identified as a piece of cave lion tissue, so it was quite a surprise when the genetic analysis showed that it was actually a woolly rhinoceros.”

Radiocarbon dating later revealed the tissue came from a period very close to when woolly rhinos went extinct, highlighting how rare the sample was.

Dr Stanton added: “The date estimate, very close to when woolly rhinos went extinct, made it incredibly valuable for understanding how and why so many species disappeared at the time.”

via Wikimedia Commons

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The research team compared the newly recovered genome with two older woolly rhinoceros genomes dating back around 18,000 and 49,000 years. The comparison showed no increase in inbreeding or harmful genetic mutations over time.

This suggested woolly rhinos remained genetically healthy until shortly before they disappeared, pointing towards a rapid population collapse rather than a slow decline.

Professor Love Dalén, an evolutionary genomics expert involved in the study, said the findings challenge the idea that humans were responsible for the species’ extinction.

He said: “Woolly rhinos had a viable population for 15,000 years after the first humans arrived in north-eastern Siberia, which suggests climate warming rather than human hunting caused the extinction”. 

Researchers believe rapid environmental changes at the end of the last Ice Age likely played a key role in the species’ disappearance. They say the findings could also help modern conservation efforts, offering lessons on how quickly even stable populations can collapse when faced with sudden climate change.

The study has been published in Genome Biology and Evolution and involved scientists from universities and research institutions across Europe, including Cardiff.

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Featured image via Unsplash