Russian scientists hail discovery of 32,000-year-old sabre-toothed cat cub

The sabre-toothed cat cub is almost small enough to hold in one hand, but its discovery after 32,000 years is a momentous event for palaeontologists.

It was around three weeks old when it died in what is now northeastern Russia – and the permafrost has kept it well-preserved ever since.

Scientists from the Academy of Sciences in Yakutia in the Far East say it is a unique find.

“Nowhere else has it been found in such good preservation” said the academy’s Aisen Klimovsky who co-authored a paper on the cub published in the journal Scientific Reports this month.

Unlike previous skeletal specimens unearthed in Texas, this cub still has its dark brown fur.