Mummified cave cheetahs inform rewilding actions in Saudi Arabia
Nature • • world
Key Points:
- Researchers discovered seven mummified and 54 skeletal cheetah remains in caves in Northern Saudi Arabia, dating back up to 4,000 years, providing the first evidence of naturally mummified big cats in the Arabian Peninsula.
- Radiocarbon dating and paleogenomic analyses revealed that these ancient cheetahs were genetically closest to two subspecies now absent from the region: the Asiatic cheetah (A. j. venaticus) and the Northwest African cheetah (A. j. hecki).
- The findings suggest cheetahs may have used caves as denning sites in this area, an ecological behavior not previously reported for the species, and highlight the importance of arid cave environments in preserving ancient DNA
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