Mummified cheetahs that lived nearly 2,000 years ago found in Saudi Arabia

By Stephen Beech

The naturally-mummified remains of seven cheetahs that lived up to 1,900 years ago have been discovered in caves in Saudi Arabia.

The find shows that at least two subspecies of the endangered predators inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before they became extinct in the region.

The discovery raises hope that cheetahs could be reintroduced in the peninsula, say scientists.

Cheetahs once inhabited much of Africa as well as Western and Southern Asia, but now live in just 9% of their historic range.

In Asia their range has decreased by 98%, and they are thought to have been locally extinct on the Arabian Peninsula since the 1970s.

Although there are five cheetah subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) - believed to have been the only subspecies present in Saudi Arabia - is listed as "critically endangered" with only a single small wild population remaining in Iran.

But the discovery of seven naturally-mummified cheetahs, along with the skeletal remains of 54 additional cats, in five caves near the city of Arar in northern Saudi Arabia has increased the feasibility of reintroducing the species to the peninsula.

The research team dated samples from two of the mummified specimens and five sets of the skeletal remains.

Their findings, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, show that the oldest skeletal remains date from around 4,000 years ago, while the mummified remains date from between 130 and about 1,870 years ago.

The researchers also extracted complete genome sequences from three of the seven sampled specimens - the first time this has been done in naturally-mummified big cats.

Study leader Ahmed Boug, of Saudi Arabia's National Center for Wildlife (NCW), said: Although the most recent specimen is genetically closest to the Asiatic cheetah, the two older cheetahs - including the oldest dated specimen - are most similar to the Northwest African cheetah."

He added: "the findings show that subspecies other than the Asiatic cheetah could support the re-establishment of cheetahs in Saudi Arabia, as an increased available genetic pool makes rewilding efforts more feasible."

The researchers also suggested that their methods show that ancient DNA records from similar specimens could be used to inform future reintroduction plans for other species.