Best find in over 100 years say scientists

An 11-year-old boy has found what scientists describe as the best-preserved remains of a wooly mammoth to have been discovered since 1901.

Yevgeny Salinder, who lives in Russia's northern Taimyr Peninsula, found the frozen animal at the end of August, when he was walking near the Yenisei River bank.

It took five days for scientists to dig out the animal, whose species became extinct around 30,000 years ago, after they were notified by the boy's parents. It was then transported to the city of Dudinka for tests.

The male mammoth is thought to have died at around 15-16 years old, and scientists from the Saint Petersburg-based Zoological Museum say his tusk, skin, an eye and an ear were all clearly in tact.

Alexei Tikhonov, director of the museum, said that the boy "sensed an unpleasant odour and saw something sticking out of the ground," which was the mammoth's heels.

Tikhonov also said that it is the best-preserved adult mammoth found in over 100 years. He added: "So far we can say it is the mammoth of the century."