Mummified Cheetahs Found in Northern Saudi Arabian Caves

NEW YORK (AP) - Scientists have found mummified cheetah remains in caves in northern Saudi Arabia.

Mummified cheetahs discovered near Arar

At a location close to the city of Arar, researchers excavated seven cheetah mummies and bones from another 54 animals. The remains date from 130 years ago to more than 1,800 years ago.

Mummification stops bodies from decomposing. Although Egyptian mummies are the best known, remains can also become mummified naturally in environments including glacial ice, desert sand and bog mud.

The newly discovered big-cat mummies have misty eyes and withered limbs, giving them the appearance of dried husks.

"It's something that I've never seen before," said Joan Madurell-Malapeira, a professor at the University of Florence in Italy who had no involvement in the discovery.

Cave conditions may have preserved the cheetahs

The researchers do not yet know precisely how the cats became mummified. However, the caves' dry environment and consistent temperatures may have contributed, according to the new study published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.

Nor is it clear why so many cheetahs ended up in the caves. The site may have served as a den where females gave birth and brought up their cubs.

Other rare examples of mummified feline remains have been found by scientists, including a sabre-toothed cat cub in Russia.

Such extensive preservation is unusual in large mammals. In addition to the correct conditions, carcasses must escape being eaten by scavengers, such as birds and hyenas.

Saudi Arabia's ancient cheetah population

Finding such well-preserved proof of cheetahs that lived in this region long ago is "entirely without precedent," study author Ahmed Boug of Saudi Arabia's National Center for Wildlife said in an email.

Cheetahs previously ranged across much of Africa and parts of Asia, but they now occupy only 9% of their former range. They have not been seen anywhere on the Arabian Peninsula for decades, probably because of habitat loss, unregulated hunting and dwindling prey, among other causes.

In the first case involving naturally mummified large cats, scientists also examined the cheetahs' genes. They found the remains most closely resembled present-day cheetahs from Asia and north-west Africa. The findings could support future work to reintroduce the cats to areas where they no longer occur.