14,000-year-old mummified cubs turn out to be wild wolf cubs, not pets, UK scientists reveal.

An international team of researchers, led by the University of York and published in June 2025 in the Cambridge journal Quaternary Research, has revealed that the famous Tumat “cubs” – two mummified dogs discovered in the Siberian permafrost (frozen ground) – were not in fact domesticated dogs, but wild wolf cubs and genetic sisters.

For years, these pups have been the subject of speculation due to their association with mammoth remains and presumed human interaction. While early research suggested they could represent the first domesticated dogs, the new analysis, known as "Multifaceted analysis reveals diet and kinship of Late Pleistocene 'Tumat Puppies,'" refutes this.

With studies of osteometry, stable isotopes, analysis of plant microfossils and genomics, they reveal that they were wolf cubs that lived between 14,965 and 14,046 years ago, consumed a wild diet and show no dietary link with humans.

The study confirms that the two calves were part of the same litter, lived in a dry, temperate climate, and ate a varied diet that included woolly rhinoceros meat —a finding detected in their stomach contents—as well as plant remains of reeds, willows, and grasses.

Despite being found near burnt mammoth bones, there is no evidence that the wolf cubs consumed such remains. Therefore, scientists rule out the hypothesis that they obtained meat from humans.

According to experts, the diet reflects the activity of a pack of wolves and not of domesticated animals or those dependent on the human species.

The specimens were found in 2011 and 2015 near Tumat, Siberia, submerged in frozen ground. Their exceptional preservation allowed for genetic and chemical analyses that confirmed their direct relationship and dietary profile.

The absence of signs of attack or disease indicates they likely died when they were still very young—between two and three months old. The hypothesis is that they became trapped in their burrow after a possible collapse , which aligns with the intact location and absence of traumatic marks.

This study represents an important breakthrough in dog domestication research. Despite predating the Bonn-Oberkassel dog by 14,200 years, the Tumat puppies show no genetic or behavioral ties to modern dogs.

In this regard, CNN highlighted that this case alters the traditional narrative about when and how wolves began their relationship with humans.

The study not only redefines the profile of these "pups," it also questions the perception of the evolutionary line between wolves and dogs. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the first dogs appeared much later and were probably the result of complex and prolonged processes, rather than isolated or early events.

The mummified “cubs” of Tumat —now identified as wolf cubs—offer a revealing window into a world 14,000 years ago, free from domestication but full of predator-prey interactions and social dynamics unique to wolves.

ANGELA MARÍA PÁEZ RODRÍGUEZ - SCHOOL OF MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM EL TIEMPO.