Cheetah Discovered Preserved as a Mummy in a Cave in Saudi Arabia

Recent findings report the discovery of seven cheetah mummies, dating back thousands of years, in caves located in Saudi Arabia.

The cheetah (acinonyx jubatus) populations have seen drastic reductions due to habitat destruction, hunting, and the wildlife trade, leading to their disappearance from the Arabian Peninsula several decades ago. Ahmed Boug and his associates at the National Wildlife Centre in Riyadh revealed details about these seven mummified cheetahs along with 54 skeletal sites found in the Lauga Cave Network in northern Saudi Arabia during the years 2022 and 2023.

The mummies, preserved through a unique process that inhibits decomposition, date back approximately 4,000 to 100 years.

“These discoveries are incredibly significant,” states Anne Schmidt Künzel from the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia. “While the mummification of Negrids isn’t wholly unexpected, this marks a groundbreaking and important find.”

“The stable temperature and low humidity in the cave environment likely aided the mummification process,” the researchers noted.

The reason for the cheetahs’ presence in the cave remains a mystery, as these animals typically do not utilize caves as dens or for storing carcasses. At the time of investigation, none of the five caves revealed any water supply.

Many of the remains were located in caves accessible solely via sinkholes, leading Schmidt Künzel to propose that the cheetahs may have fallen and become trapped. Additionally, remains of other animals including insects, wolves, striped hyenas, gazelles, and red foxes were also discovered here.

Upon examining 20 complete cheetah skulls, researchers found that six belonged to adults, while the rest were from individuals aged between 6 and 24 months. There were also nine cub skeletons located in the primary cave. The abundance of young cheetahs indicates that adult females might have used the cave for collective protection, according to Schmidt Künzel.

Camera traps set up during the investigation indicated that wolves were also using these caves. “This implies that during the cheetah’s lifespan, they may have frequented several, if not all, of these caves, enabling them to enter intentionally,” Schmidt Künzel added.

While there is only one species of cheetah, it is divided into four genetically distinct subspecies. The Southeast African cheetah (acinonyx jubatus jubatus) is the most populous, while the Northeast African cheetah (acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii) and Northwest African cheetah (acinonyx jubatus heck) exist in smaller, fragmented groups. The Asian cheetah (acinonyx jubatus venaticus), meanwhile, has very few remaining members in Iran.

Boug and his team sequenced the genomes of three sets of artifacts. Their research indicated that the mummified individuals are most closely related to the Asian subspecies, currently found in that region.

Schmidt-Künzel emphasizes that this work supports the notion that all cheetah subspecies can adapt to similar arid conditions, making it feasible to reintroduce them to the area through selective breeding of African subspecies.

Conservation and Rewilding in Central Apennines: Italy

A visit to Italy’s central Apennine region offers an enticing introduction to the concept and practice of rewilding.