18,000-year-old frozen ''puppy'' discovered in near-perfect condition in Siberia

NEW DELHI/NOVOSIBIRSK: A puppy said to be buried for 18,000 years has been found in amazingly perfect condition in Siberia, though the scientists are unable to decide if it is a dog or a wolf, a media report said.

Named Dogor, a local word for friend, it was found near Yakutsk in eastern Siberia last summer, the Sky News reported. The male pup's nose, teeth and fur were in remarkable condition.

Researcher Love Dalen said it was possibly the oldest dog ever found and was "amazingly well-preserved". It looked as if it was a "very recently dead animal", he said.

The body's age was measured by carbon dating its rib bone, though DNA tests did not confirm its lineage. David Stanton, a researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden, said it could be from a species that was ancestral to both dogs and wolves. –– IANS