Ecology: Mummified cheetahs discovery gives hope for species’ Arabic reintroduction

The discovery of seven naturally-mummified cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in caves in northern Saudi Arabia reveals that at least two subspecies of the endangered cats inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before their local extinction. The findings, reported in Communications Earth & Environment, may open new possibilities for the reintroduction of cheetahs to the peninsula.

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) — thought to have been the only subspecies present in Saudi Arabia — is critically-endangered, with only a single small wild population remaining in Iran. Therefore, the feasibility of reintroducing cheetahs to the peninsula is debated.

Ahmed Boug and colleagues discovered 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 in 2022 and 2023. The authors dated samples from two of the mummified specimens and five sets of the skeletal remains. The oldest skeletal remains date from approximately 4,000 years ago, while the mummified remains date from approximately 130 and approximately 1,870 years ago. The authors also extracted complete genome sequences from three of the seven sampled specimens — the first time this has been done in naturally-mummified big cats. 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 (Acinonyx jubatus hecki).

The authors say that their results 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. They also suggest that their method shows that ancient DNA records from similar specimens could be used to inform future reintroduction plans for other species.

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