Antena 1, 30 July 2026
Introduction
At the end of July 2026, mammoth remains were discovered near the village of Ryahovo in Bulgaria (Ruse County). The discovery was made possible by the low water level of the Danube and the keen eye of a passer-by. On 30 July 2026, the Regional History Museum in Ruse held an impromptu press conference at 12 noon, during which it presented the findings. Expert Krasimir Kirov presented to the press the initial conclusions that can be drawn regarding this animal. Its existence can be dated to between 10,000 and 200,000 years ago.
A team from the Romanian television channel Antena 1 was also present at the press conference. Journalist Ana Grigore produced a report from Ruse and Ryahovo on the discovery, which was broadcast as part of the evening news programme ‘Observator’. The Bridge of Friendship website was a media partner of Antena 1 and received the video footage, along with the right to upload it to YouTube and publish it in its own languages. The Antena 1 report was also made possible thanks to the support of the Regional History Museum, represented by its director, Nicolai Nenov, and the expert Krasimir Kirov.
Video cu auto-generated subtitles in English
Transcript of the report
Presenter:
Spectacular discovery in Bulgaria: after the Danube dried up, the receding waters revealed bones which experts say may belong to a mammoth from many thousands of years ago. Once they have been preserved, the remains will be exhibited at the Museum in Ruse.
Krasimir Kirov, expert at the Regional History Museum in Ruse:
The tongue and teeth used to be here. This is the tongue… Here we can see the thigh bones… A section of ribs…
Presenter
This is what the discovery made by a local resident looks like after the Danube reached a historic low. The man found in the riverbed, buried in the sand, a lower jaw, tusks and a rib from a prehistoric animal believed to have lived 200,000 years ago.
Ana Grigore:
The bones were found here, in the village of Reahovo in northern Bulgaria, just 2 km from the Romanian border. A local resident discovered the remains and alerted the authorities. Experts from the Regional History Museum in Ruse have recovered the remains and will analyse them to determine their exact age and origin.
Krasimir Kirov
It appears to be an animal that was between 20 and 30 years old. We then need to clean them, dry them and preserve them. And the final step is to display them to the public.
Presenter
This is not the first discovery of its kind made by our Bulgarian neighbours. The first mammoth bones were found decades ago by a Romanian.
Krasimir Kirov
It was found, amongst other things, in the eco-museum… There is one of the most precious specimens, perhaps in the world, namely a Mammuthus rumanus found by Ștefănescu.
Presenter
Mammoths dominated the tundras of Europe, Asia and North America for hundreds of thousands of years. Close relatives of today’s elephants, they became extinct around 4,000 years ago due to climate change and intensive hunting by humans. A faithful replica of such an animal is on display at the museum in Ruse.
Krasimir Kirov
An animal that stands 5 metres tall and weighs between 7 and 8 tonnes. In fact, one of the theories put forward by experts is that mammoths were hunted by the early humans of that time. They were not used solely for food. People built their homes from their bones and tusks.
Presenter
Mammoths lived during the Ice Age and were perfectly adapted to extreme temperatures. Their thick fur, huge tusks and impressive size helped them survive in frozen regions.
Photo: (source: YouTube, Antena 1)
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