In August 1900, hunter Semyon Tarabikin went hunting along the Berezovka River in Yakutia. Failures in finding game led him to venture east, where he accidentally discovered the remains of a huge animal. It turned out to be a mammoth, preserved in excellent condition. Tarabikin reported the find to the local authorities, and the information was sent from Yakutsk to St. Petersburg. An expedition led by Otto Fyodorovich Hertz was dispatched from the capital to study the paleontological find.

Upon examining the mammoth, scientists noticed that it lay in an unusual position: sprawled on its belly and slightly bending its legs, as if it had tried to stand up. Hertz suggested that the mammoth had fallen from a cliff and plunged into a deep ravine. This was evidenced by the fractures of the shoulder and pelvis sustained during its life. In the animal's mouth, they found remnants of undigested grass.

Otto Hertz described the carcass as follows: "The meat was dark red, sinewy, and covered with fat, looking fresh, like heavily frozen beef or horse meat. We debated for a long time whether to try it, as it looked appetizing, but no one dared. However, the dogs enjoyed eating it." Transporting the remains was a challenging task. To speed up the thawing of the ground, the head of the expedition ordered a hut to be built over the mammoth, where a positive temperature was maintained.

Due to caution during the dissection, the excavation lasted four months. Only in February 1902 were the remains delivered to Irkutsk, from where they were transported by train to St. Petersburg for a paleontological exhibition in the museum. The mammoth was displayed in the same position in which it was found, reconstructing the excavation process. Later, radiocarbon analysis showed that the mammoth died about 40,000 years ago. Thus, scientists made an important paleontological discovery.