50,000-year-old bison skull found in Ukraine

A photograph of a giant bison skull, courtesy of the Royal B.C. Museum. In the Ukraine, a research team claims to have discovered a bison skull 50,000 years old. Submitted photo/Royal B.C Museum

Kiev, Feb 12 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A Ukrainian expedition team has discovered a 50,000-year-old bison skull in a cave in the country’s Crimea peninsula, said a senior expert related to the study of caves.

It was found during a paleontological study, or the scientific study of pre-historic life.

“Skull fragments have been found. The paleontologists hope to discover the remains of the bison’s stomach contents to get more information about the Crimean flora at that time [50,000 years ago],” said Igor Timokhin, a senior speleologist.

The discovery was made in December 2012 in the Emine-Bair Khosar cave, a natural animal graveyard.

Many of the animals whose remains were found there fell into a vertical well, connecting the cave with the surface of the Chatyrdag plateau, a mountainous massif.

Mammoth lion and bear remains have previously been found in the cave.

Tags: bison skull, Chatyrdag plateau, Emine-Bair Khosar cave, paleontological study