Gold miners unearthed a mangled lump of mummified flesh, which upon further inspection turned out to be a balled-up Arctic ground squirrel.
An unrecognizable ball of fur, claws and limbs that was recently unearthed in Canada is actually a mummified squirrel that likely died while it hibernated around 30,000 years ago, scientists reveal.
The lump is believed to be a curled-up Arctic ground squirrel . This species, which looks more like modern-day gophers than most squirrels, still exists today and lives in the region where the mummified ball was unearthed. Researchers have nicknamed the squirrel"Hester" after the area where it was found.
The researchers believe that Hester was most likely hibernating when he died. Living Arctic ground squirrels curl up into balls like Hester to hibernate inside underground dens, which they often line with leafy nests. Researchers have found examples of these preserved nests, but they are almost always empty.
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