Mummified cave Cheetah inform rewilding actions in Saudi Arabia

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) experienced a steep population decline and has been extirpated from 98% of their historical range, including the Arabian Peninsula, where it played a role as top predator maintaining healthy food webs and ungulate populations. The serendipitous discovery of seven naturally mummified cheetah in caves along with skeletal remains of 54 cheetah, along with their putative prey, in the northern region of Saudi Arabia provided an unexpected opportunity to study the genetic make-up of Arabian cheetah to inform conservation measures. The mummified cheetahs, the first reported natural mummification of a large felid, showed 14C calibrated ages dated 4223 +- 40 years BP to 127 +- 40 years BP.