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A wolf cub which was found mummified in northern Canada lived at least 56,000 years ago, scientists say.

The female cub was hidden in permafrost for tens of thousands of years and was discovered by a gold miner near Dawson city in Yukon territory in 2016.

She has been named Zhur, meaning wolf, by the local Tr'ondek Hwech'in people.

Scientists now say the cub is "the most complete wolf mummy known", with her hide, fur and teeth all preserved.

"She's basically 100% intact - all that's missing are her eyes," lead author Professor Julie Meachen, a palaeontologist and professor of anatomy at Des Moines University in Iowa, told the EurekAlert! science news website.

While ancient wolf fossils are relatively common in the Yukon or neighbouring Alaska, mummies of larger mammals are rare.

Using a variety of techniques, the team was able to determine many aspects of the cub's life, from her age and diet to a probable cause of death.

By comparing data from the wolf's DNA and analysis of her tooth enamel, they think she lived and died between 56,000 and 57,000 years ago and that the cub and her mother had mainly eaten "aquatic resources", including fish such as salmon.

X-rays of the body, meanwhile, found she was around six to eight weeks old when she died.