Cave lions were a distinct species for two million years
Frozen remains found in Siberia reveal that these ancient predators were not just hairy African lions, but a unique lineage that survived the Ice Age.
In 2018, paleontologists in Siberia discovered the nearly perfect body of a cave lion cub named Sparta. Frozen in the permafrost for 32,000 years, the cub was found with her golden fur, claws, and internal organs so well preserved that she appeared to be merely sleeping. While researchers initially viewed these creatures as a larger, fluffier subspecies of the modern African lion, genetic analysis of Sparta's cells has rewritten their history.
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