Scientists and archaeologists are making exciting discoveries in the Arctic. They are finding the perfectly preserved remains of mammoths, cave bears, giant beavers, and other prehistoric megafauna in thawing permafrost. These finds, revealed by mining and global warming, are leading to important scientific breakthroughs about long-extinct species who roamed the Earth during the last Ice Age.

“We can just learn so much more from an animal with skin and fur and organs than we can from just bones,” says paleontologist Julie Meachen.