Long-term plan in the works for baby mammoth found last year in Yukon

Nun cho ga, the baby wooly mammoth whose extraordinarily preserved remains caused a sensation after they weredug up by a miner near Dawson City, Yukon, last year,couldsoon be headingto Ottawa at least for a period.

The rare specimen believed to be about 30,000 to 35,000 years old has been stored in a walk-in freezer in Dawson City since its discovery. Now, the planis to send itto the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa to learn more about it.

"We need to preserve her. We need to respect her, and that's in the plans and we're venturing down that road by taking her down to Ottawa," said Debbie Nagano, heritage director with the Tr'ondk Hwch'in First Nation in Dawson City.

TheCanadian Conservation Institute is a federal agency that specializes in the preservation and conservation of things withheritage value. TheTr'ondk Hwch'inhas submitted an application forNun cho ga"big animal baby" in the Hn language to undergo conservation treatment.

The animal was deemed to be the first whole baby mammoth to be found in North America, and the second in the world. It wasfound onTr'ondk Hwch'inlands and the First Nationis taking the lead in determining what happens with it.

Nagano say it's important to figure out the best way to tell and shareNun cho ga's story, withinher communityand to a wider public. On Tuesday, a community meeting was held in Dawson City to talk about it.

"How do we teach our teachings at the same time withNun cho ga?It's land development,it's guardianship, it's stewardship and the list goes on," Nagano said.

Grant Zazula, a Yukon government paleontologist, says there are a lot of questions still to be answered aboutNun cho ga as a scientific find. Yukon miners are routinely digging up fossils, bones and mammoth tusks, but this was a remarkably complete specimen.

"This is an animal that's extinct. It used to roam the hills of Dawson City and is no longer here. And there's questions about why she's no longer here. You know, why don't we have mammothsanymore? How did this mammoth live?" Zazula said.

He said X-rays and CT scans mayhelp answer some questions about this particular animal. It's not certain howNun cho gadied, how old it was, or even whether it's male or female.

"We've all been referring to her as 'she,' but on a baby elephant or baby mammoth it's actually very tough to tell," Zazula said.

'This mammoth has brought these communities together'

Then there are other, deeper questions about the animal's cultural and spiritual significance, Zazulasaid. Speaking about the animal's discovery last year,the paleontologistspeaks in almost mystical terms.

"Everyone that's spent any time around Nun cho gahas been deeply emotionally impacted and spiritually impacted. And we feel that this mammoth has brought these communities together the Tr'ondk Hwch'in,the Yukon government, scientists, the gold miners," Zazula said.

"It's a being that has a spirit. So we're trying to learn her story. Why was she there? What was she? How was she living? How does she die? And why is she here now? Why did she appear on June 21st of last summer?"

Zazula calls the animal "a real gift," as it offers a chance to bringscience and Indigenous traditional knowledge together in new ways.

"We're trying to use this as an opportunity for teaching and healing and self-reflection, and how to do science and traditional ways of knowing in different ways, and how to bring that together," he said.

"And that's really powerful."

Naganoechoed Zazula's suggestion that there's a deeper meaning and significance to Nun cho ga's appearance at this point in her community's history.

"It's almost like a symbolic spirit that came at the right time, and we're going to use it as a vessel to push through to regain our culture, our protocols back.It's time to come together in a good way," she said.

Nagano said her First Nation will be deeply involved inNun cho ga's transport to Ottawa, to ensure that proper traditions and ceremonies are observed.

Eventually, the animal will be returned to Dawson City but the First Nation has not decided what will happenwith it then.