Miner Finds Grapefruit-Sized Fur Ball Now Deemed a ‘Perfectly Preserved’ 30,000-Year-Old Squirrel

(Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

When a gold miner found a stiff ball of fur in Yukon, Canada, he had no idea what it was at first. Closer inspection showed that the grapefruit-sized clump contained tiny hands and claws, a tail, and ears—with scientists concluding that the creature is, in fact, a mummified squirrel from the Ice Age.

X-rays revealed that the young arctic ground squirrel had curled up to sleep in its nest some 30,000 years ago, never to wake. The little critter then lay perfectly preserved, buried in the Klondike permafrost for an exceedingly long period before the careful hands of a miner claimed it.

The amazing discovery in Hester Creek in the Klondike goldfields of Dawson City in 2018 is now moving to the next phase. Paleontologists are getting the fossilized fur ball ready for public viewing at the local museum, Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, which reopens in June following a revamp.

A veterinarian holds up the perfectly preserved remains of a 30,000-year-old Arctic squirrel. (Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

On its website, the center explains that the remains of arctic ground squirrels from the Ice Age are common finds in the Klondike goldfields, which are covered in frozen soil. However, finding a whole one such as this is extremely rare.

“I study bones all the time and they’re exciting, they’re really neat,” Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula told CBC. “But when you see an animal that’s perfectly preserved, that’s 30,000 years old, and you can see its face and its skin and its hair and all that, it’s just so visceral. It brings it so to life.”

Arctic ground squirrels still live today and look a lot like modern-day prairie dogs, with short, stocky bodies, stubby legs, and flat tails. They exist in large colonies that dig extensive underground tunnel networks. When it’s time to hibernate for the winter, they settle into dens approximately 3 feet (1 meter) below the surface, where they stay for seven to eight months of the year.

The preserved arctic squirrel was examined by a veterinarian, who conducted X-ray scans on the tiny bundle. (Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

A veterinarian takes X-ray scans of an arctic squirrel found in the Klondike goldfields of Dawson City in 2018. (Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

Incredibly, during hibernation their body temperatures fall to sub-zero temperatures, warming from time to time through bursts of shivering. It’s thought that this arctic ground squirrel specimen died during its first hibernation, though that remains uncertain.

It was expected that calcium would have leaked from the creature’s bones over time, causing them to deteriorate. Surprisingly the X-ray scans conducted by a veterinarian showed the animal’s skeleton was in great condition. By examining it this way, researchers were able to avoid unfurling—and potentially damaging—the precious, prehistoric bundle.

“Thanks to local vet Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre we were able to get some incredible X-rays of the squirrel’s remains," Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre announced in a Facebook post. “It’s amazing to think that this little guy was running around the Yukon several thousand years ago.”

An X-ray film shows the remains of an arctic ground squirrel that was found in permafrost in 2018. (Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

A second X-ray film showing the remains of an arctic ground squirrel preserved from the Ice Age. (Courtesy of Government of Yukon)

After tens of thousands of years resting in an underground grave, the squirrel, now christened Hester by the center, will soon go on display for the world to see, alongside its “mummified Ice Age cousin,” Henrietta, a modern taxidermized arctic ground squirrel.

A plethora of other mummified critters have been discovered in the Klondike goldfields over the years. In 2016, scientists were thrilled by the discovery of a perfectly preserved gray wolf pup, while in 2022 a young miner operating a muck digger in the same region struck a whole baby woolly mammoth.

Commenting at the time, Zazula said the miner had made the “most important discovery in paleontology in North America.”

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