“Called Sasha after a man who discovered it, these unique remains were dug from the permafrost in 2014 in the Siberian region of Yakutia, officially called the Sakha Republic.
Now embalmed to show the creature’s real appearance in Paleolithic times, the ancient mammal went briefly on display in Moscow. Scientists have been busy studying the animal – and have unearthed some surprises. One is the colour of Sasha’s thick hairy curls, described by one expert as ‘strawberry blond’, and definitely very different from the familiar slate grey of today white rhinos in Africa. Initially when it was found, scientists said the colour was ‘light grey’ but after cleaning up the animal, they found an altogether different hue.
Another surprise is the size.
This baby rhinoceros was some seven months old when it died, according to analyses of its teeth. Yet it is the same size as an 18 month old modern animal; in other words, the long-gone Siberian rhinos were far larger than those now living, for example, in Africa.
The stubs of the horns of the ancient beast are clearly visible, too.
It is not known whether the remains belong to a male or female as the internal organs of the animal did not survive. In Russia, Sasha is a name for either a girl or boy.”
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