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Canadian Study Retrieves 700,000-Year-Old Mammoth DNA from Squirrel Feces

6/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

Canadian researchers published a June 9 *Nature Communications* study showing frozen Yukon ground-squirrel droppings contain ancient DNA.
The DNA spans 3,000 to 700,000 years and includes over 18 mitochondrial genomes, including six woolly mammoth genomes.
The 700,000-year-old sample provides the oldest mitochondrial genome ever recovered from feces.
The released data, which also list DNA from many animals and over 200 plant groups, could aid de-extinction projects such as Colossal’s mammoth effort.

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Story summary

Canadian researchers published a June 9 *Nature Communications* study showing frozen Yukon ground-squirrel droppings contain ancient DNA.
The DNA spans 3,000 to 700,000 years and includes over 18 mitochondrial genomes, including six woolly mammoth genomes.
The 700,000-year-old sample provides the oldest mitochondrial genome ever recovered from feces.
The released data, which also list DNA from many animals and over 200 plant groups, could aid de-extinction projects such as Colossal’s mammoth effort.