After years of study, the find was officially announced in November 2024, to the delight of palaeontologists worldwide. Superbly preserved by the permafrost, the cub is far and away the best specimen of its species ever found, and the head and front paws have survived intact. This image shows a 3D digital rendering of how a full-grown sabre-toothed cat might once have looked.

The cub isn't the only ancient carcass to be pulled from the melting tundra: in 2021 scientists in Siberia recovered the remains of a 44,000-year-old wolf.

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