A caving team has discovered an ice age-era American Cheetah skeleton in Lee County in far southwest Virginia.
The complete 5-foot long skeleton was discovered deep in Burja Cave in April of 2016, but was only recently excavated and brought to the surface in pieces capable of fitting through the narrow cave slots.
The remains of the animal were located at the bottom of a series of vertical shafts and drops that probably trapped the animal when it fell in. The heavily mineralized skeleton is believe to be between 10,000 and 500,000 years old.
Despite its name, Miracinonyx inexpectatus is more closely related to the living American Mountain Lion than its African namesake.
American Cheetahs have been found in cave pits before, most notably in Wyoming and Arizona.
One theory as to why Pronghorn Antelope are so fast (far faster than they need to be be to avoid living predators) is that they are adapted to survive an extinct predator, the American Cheetah.
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