The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS
The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River's water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS

SOFIA, July 29 (Reuters) - The remains of what is believed to be an ancient mammoth ‌have been revealed in northern Bulgaria, after Danube ‌River water levels receded to a record low level, the BTA ​news agency reported on Wednesday, citing historians.

The animal's remains were found on Wednesday by a local resident of the Ryahovo village, who noticed the unusual find ‌on the river bed. ⁠Villagers then alerted specialists in the Regional History Museum in the nearby town of ⁠Ruse.

Museum Director Nikolay Nenov told BTA that experts who were sent to the site recognised a lower ​jaw, two ​tusks and possibly a ​mammoth rib, and that ‌the bones will be removed for further examination on Thursday to establish with accuracy the origin and age of the find.

"I would not call it a sensation, but any discovery of such ancient remains is ‌very important for science," Nenov ​said, adding it has been ​long believed that the ​site was a swamp where the ‌animal probably died thousands of ​years ago.

Danube levels ​have fallen to record lows in recent weeks following the summer's prolonged heat waves and drought ​that have ‌affected rivers across Europe including key waterways such ​as the Rhine.

(Reporting by Stoyan Nenov, writing ​by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by)