Bones found in Yukon ID'd as ice-age cheetah
DNA analysis has identified ice-age bones found in the Yukon as belonging to the extinct American cheetah, rather than a puma. This discovery challenges previous scientific assumptions about the predator's diet and range, as it was previously thought to only hunt pronghorn in the lower 48 states.
Why it matters
This finding provides new insights into prehistoric ecosystems and demonstrates the evolving capabilities of genetic analysis in paleontology.
But DNA analysis from the University of California said otherwise.
The test was performed by Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, at the time a lab technician who had just finished her undergrad. The Yukon bones were some of the first samples she ever worked on.
“So when I did the first preliminary analyses, and these didn’t look like pumas at all, I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve done something really, really wrong here,’” she laughed.
Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula still remembers his amazement at the message he received that evening: “Hey Grant, your cougars aren’t cougars — they’re actually cheetahs.”
“Twenty-five years ago, looking at ancient DNA was almost science fiction, Jurassic Park kind of stuff,” said Zazula. “Now, doing genetic analysis on permafrost-preserved bones from the Yukon is kind of a regular thing we do.”
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