When scientists from Saudi Arabia’s National Wildlife Center were scouring caves for wildlife in 2022 and 2023, they came across something unexpected: seven naturally mummified cheetahs in five caves near the northern city of Arar. The remains were largely intact, with well-preserved soft tissues and skeletons.
Now, an analysis of three of the mummies’ DNA has revealed something that could help reintroduce cheetahs to the Arabian Peninsula wild, researchers say.
Cheetahs once inhabited much of Africa and parts of Asia, but are now found in only 9% of their historic range. The Asiatic cheetah, called Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, was previously thought to be the only subspecies ever present in Saudi Arabia. The species is now critically endangered, with a small wild population remaining in Iran. Throughout the peninsula, cheetahs were considered locally extinct in the 1970s.
But when the researchers analyzed three of the mummies, they found that two of the oldest specimens were genetically closer to the subspecies Acinonyx jubatus hecki, known as the Northwest African cheetah.
The findings, published in January in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, reveal that at least two subspecies of cheetah once roamed the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery could help reintroduction efforts, as scientists now know which cheetah lineages once lived on the peninsula and have evidence of their success in the area.
“It was very surprising,” said lead author Ahmed Al Boug, a research ecologist and deputy director general of the National Wildlife Center in Saudi Arabia. “This discovery represents the first documented case of natural mummification in cheetahs and the first physical evidence that cheetah subspecies originated in the Arabian Peninsula.
“Moreover, the use of caves by cheetahs is highly atypical behavior, making both the discovery itself and the context in which it occurred completely unexpected,” he added in an email.
Researchers are investigating why cheetahs entered and used caves; they don’t think it was by accident or for isolation as they were nearing the end of their lives. However, the cave’s environment and its hyperarid conditions contributed to the mummification of the cheetahs, Al Boug said.
The reintroduction of cheetahs in Saudi Arabia
Researchers examine a mummified cheetah. – National Center for Wildlife
Along with the seven cheetah mummies, the researchers found the skeletal remains of 54 additional cats in the caves. The study authors dated five of them and found the oldest to be about 4,000 years old. Two mummies that were analyzed date from about 130 to 1,870 years ago, according to the study. The authors plan to further investigate the remaining mummies and skeletal fragments to identify subspecies for additional evidence, Al Boug said.
“This discovery is significant in that it represents the easternmost record of an African cheetah subspecies and demonstrates that northern Saudi Arabia has been occupied by multiple cheetah lineages over the millennia,” Al Boug said. “Together, these findings refine our understanding of cheetah landscape use, clarify the chronology of regional extirpation, and improve the resolution of subspecies historically present in this region.”
To identify subspecies of mummified cheetahs, the authors extracted complete genome sequences from three of the seven remaining ones. It was the first time DNA had been extracted from naturally mummified cheetahs or big cats, according to a press release from the journal.
Adrian Tordiffe, a wildlife veterinary specialist in India, said it was surprising that some of the cheetah remains were only about a century old, as it revealed that these cats lived in Saudi Arabia much more recently than people realised.
“Even more striking is that the remains show that different subspecies of cheetah lived there at different times,” Tordiffe, also a lecturer at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said in an email. He was not involved in the study.
“This tells us that the Arabian Peninsula was once an important natural bridge for cheetahs, not an ecological dead end.”
Tordiffe added that the discovery gives ecologists clear evidence of species that lived in the area in the not-so-distant past. “Because we now know which cheetah lineages lived in Arabia, reintroduction efforts can focus on using ecologically appropriate animals rather than bringing in cheetahs from completely different environments.
“The remains also include young and adult animals, showing that cheetahs were not just passing through, but were breeding and thriving. This tells us that the landscape once supported complete cheetah populations, especially alongside prey species such as gazelles, which are now being successfully restored in Saudi Arabia. This research turns cheetah reintroduction from a hopeful idea into a well-spoken plan Torffeinform.
Cheetah remains from five caves were mostly intact, with well-preserved soft tissues and skeletons. – National Center for Wildlife
Wildlife populations in the Arabian Peninsula have historically been diminished by human impacts, including overhunting and land-use changes, Al Boug said. But now, with large protected areas in the Middle East, many of the main threats to cheetahs, such as habitat degradation, human disturbance and competition with lions, have been reduced, he added. As a result, Al Boug said he believes Saudi Arabia is well positioned to support the recovery of a species once widespread in the region.
“Showing how long the cheetah lived in Saudi Arabia shows that they were an important part of the ecosystem and not just passing through,” said Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, a nonprofit working to prevent cheetah extinction. Marker was not involved in the new study, but the fund is partnering with the National Wildlife Center for cheetah reintroduction efforts in Saudi Arabia.
“Cheetahs and other top predators play important roles in the ecosystem. Cheetahs are large hunters and eat quickly, then leave scraps to feed other species. Therefore, where we find top predators, there is a greater amount of biodiversity because they feed on other small mammals, birds and insects,” she added in an email.
“As the Saudis reintroduce their wild species, the cheetah will be an important addition to rewilding, bringing a healthy ecosystem back to the desert.”
Taylor Nicioli is a freelance journalist based in New York City.
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