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| - The two photographs were authentic, however the age of the lion cub was slightly off. Scientists radiocarbon-dated the animal to about 28,000 years before present (BP), rather than 26,000 as some claimed.
In mid-October 2024, a collage of two images spread on social media allegedly showing a "perfectly preserved cave lion cub from the Ice Age" that was "about 26,000 years old."
One Facebook post including the photos gained more than 49,000 reactions, 1,900 comments, and 3,300 shares as of this writing.
(Facebook user Ers Srs)
The rumor spread across multiple social media platforms, including on X, Instagram and Threads.
In short, the pictures were authentic, as were most details in the claim. However, the lion cub was radiocarbon-dated to about 28,000 years before present (BP), rather than 26,000 years. Therefore, we have rated this claim as mostly true.
How Far Back Does the Lion Cub Date?
In mid-August 2021, reputable media outlets, such as the BBC, Reuters, and The Guardian, published articles on the discovery of two lion cubs encased in Siberian permafrost.
Those reports were based on a study published in the Quaternary journal in August 2021. That study found that the female cub — who was pictured in the social media posts, as is outlined below, and nicknamed "Sparta" — was radiocarbon-dated to 27,962 ± 109 years (roughly 28,000) before present, while the male cub, "Boris," was dated to 43,448 ± 389 years BP.
"Sparta is probably the best preserved Ice Age animal ever found, and is more or less undamaged apart from the fur being a bit ruffled. She even had the whiskers preserved. Boris is a bit more damaged, but still pretty good," Love Dalen, a professor of evolutionary genetics at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm, Sweden, and an author of the study, reportedly told CNN in early August 2021.
Origins of the Photographs
The photo at the top of the collage was originally shared in September 2019 by the Russian Geographical Society. It was captured by Alexey Mikhailov (Алексей Михайлов, in Russian) during the IV Russian Geographical Society Festival, where "paleontologists talked about the sensational discoveries made while studying the cave lion cubs."
During the event, one of the lion cubs, Sparta, initially believed to be male, was actually confirmed to be female through advanced imaging studies conducted in Japan.
(rgo.ru)
The Russian Geographical Society webpage also included a different image (see below) from the same scene, showing Sparta on the left and the second lion cub, Boris, positioned on the right.
(rgo.ru, Canva)
The earliest example of the image at the bottom of the collage in the social media posts appeared to be in a 2019 Siberian Times article titled: "Stunning pictures of the world's only uniquely preserved cave lion cubs as new secrets revealed." (As of this writing, Siberian Times' website was not available, displaying a notice "Site is coming soon.")
(siberiantimes.com via archive.is)
Below is a video, from The Siberian Times' YouTube channel, showing Sparta in surroundings similar to those depicted in the above photo.
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