Everyone has heard the rumor, but probably only dogs, or passing wolves, ever enjoyed a modern feast of preserved mammoth meat.
Mammoth meat looks like horse meat but quickly rots when it thaws.
Several mammoths were found in permafrost, preserved since the last glacial period.
The most famous was found in 1901 near the banks of the Berezovka River in Siberia. An Academy of Science expedition with dogsleds was quickly sent.
The expedition found a nearly complete carcass, but wolves and dogs had left the skull almost bare.
The meat was dark red, suggesting horse meat, and marbled with fat.
The dogs ate it avidly; the men could not quite steel themselves to try it too. Members of the expedition said the stench was like that of a badly kept stable blended with that of offal.
Members of later trips said scientists never banqueted on or even sampled the meat.
Books that describe a banquet usually lack a place and date.
The rumor seems to have arisen from Siberian natives’ superstitions warning against eating the meat, though the Yakut fed it to their dogs in time of famine.
Related Posts
-
Which Frozen Woolly Mammoth Was Good Enough to Eat?
Before this century, scientists knew that a large, elephant-like creature called the mammoth had once roamed the forests of Siberia and other parts of the world. Ancient cave paintings depicting these creatures had…
-
Why do the French Eat Frog Legs, What do they Taste Like, and Do they Taste Like Chicken?
Frogs legs taste like chicken with a tad of fishiness thrown in for good measure. Think of it as "chicken of the swamp" with a texture most similar to chicken wings. Frogs legs…
-
Why Does Soup Taste Bland When It’s Cold and Why Does Hot Food Taste Better Than Cold Food?
With cold soup, the fault may not be in the salt but in the absence of heat to volatilize the other flavorings so they ascend to the nose. Flavor is both taste and…
-
Why Does Tea or Coffee Taste Better When Made With Fresh Water and Why Does Stale Water Taste Flat?
The reason that freshly boiled water is more effective for making tea or coffee than water boiled twice is that the fresh water has a higher oxygen content. This should result in a…
-
How Does Temperature Affect the Taste of Food and Drink and Why Does Coffee and Soup Taste Better When Hot?
What we normally refer to as "taste" is more correctly termed flavor, which is made up of taste, irritation and aroma. Taste per se consists only of the five sensations that can be…
-
How Do We Know So Much About Extinct Mammoths?
The wooly mammoth, which is an ancestor of our modern elephant, lived on earth for 3,000,000 years, and became extinct only 10,000 years ago. However, we know a great deal about these creatures,…
