Mammoth tusk hunters digging in the permafrost of the Siberian Arctic made an astonishing discovery of two frozen cave lion cubs from the Ice Age. One was so well preserved that it looked like it was simply sleeping.

The first cub, nicknamed ‘Sparta,’ was found with matted but intact fur, teeth, skin, soft tissues and organs. Its claws were even still sharp enough to prick the finger of the scientist who studied it!&nbsp; Found meters apart, the second cub ‘Boris’ was less preserved, but otherwise was still in good condition.“Sparta is probably the best preserved Ice Age animal ever found, and is more or less undamaged apart from the fur being a bit ruffled. She even had the whiskers preserved. Boris is a bit more damaged, but still pretty good,” said Love Dalén of the Centre for Paleogenetics in Stockholm, Sweden, to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/05/world/frozen-cave-lion-cubs-siberia-scn/">CNN</a>.

As the two cubs were found near each other, researchers first thought that they were siblings. New studies, however, showed that Sparta was 15,000 years old whereas Boris was more than 43,000 years old.“Given their preservation they must have been buried very quickly. So maybe they died in a mudslide, or fell into a crack in the permafrost," Dalen added.

Images: Love Dalén#paleontology #cavelion #permafrost #Siberia #IceAge

Love Dalén examining Sparta, the frozen cave lion. Photo:&nbsp;Jacquelyn Gill