Ancient Wolverine Skeleton Unearthed in UK Cave, Dating Back 80 Millennia

A noteworthy jawbone of a prehistoric wolverine, originating from approximately 80,000-90,000 years in the past, was unearthed recently. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments

A modest assembly of the Craven Potholing Club’s personnel have accomplished a captivating finding from 80 millennia prior.

They had been excavating manually within the new C-Chamber located at Stump Cross Caverns for marginally beyond a year, nestled in the core of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in close proximity to Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

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Commencing their endeavors in 2025, they have relocated an astonishing 75 metric tons of sediment within a single year, and in excess of 200 tons yet await digging. Their aspiration is to inaugurate it for the public in 2028.

Lately, one of the participants encountered a remarkable revelation: a fossilized Wolverine mandible judged to be in the vicinity of 80-90,000 years of age. 

This exceptional discovery imparts invaluable knowledge regarding the Ice Age fauna that once inhabited the Yorkshire Dales.

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The sample will be meticulously conserved and scrutinized by paleontologists, and visitors to Stump Cross Caverns will be afforded an opportunity to familiarize themselves with this compelling find during their subterranean or fossil excavation venture.

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Within the depicted image, one can observe Caver Rowan Worsman, an associate of the Craven Potholing Club, who chanced upon this incredible fragment of a Wolverine’s jaw, estimated to be circa 80-90,000 years old. February 9, 2026.

Analogous to modern-day wolverines, these beings possessed formidable, robust mandibles capable of pulverizing osseous matter and piercing through frozen sustenance.

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They were proficient predators within frigid, elevated terrains.

Even though some ancient mustelids from the Pliocene epoch, such as Megalictis, attained enormous dimensions (surpassing 100 kg in weight), the Ice Age Gulo gulo (the contemporary variant) bore close resemblance to those encountered presently, albeit with slight variances in their dentition.

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