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The discovery of two long-nosed peccary (genus Mylohyus) skulls and post-cranial bones in Shenandoah Wild Cave (SWC) on a 13 October 2023 survey trip of the Virginia Speleological Survey's Shenandoah County Cave Survey prompted the reincarnation of the Paleontological Resource Inventory of Virginia Caves (PRIOVAC). An initial assessment trip with two of the surveyors revealed an abundance of remains including evidence of a buried partially articulated skeleton in the crawlway floor between the two initially discovered skulls.
After permissions and a Virginia Cave Collections Permit were received, a series of trips were executed in 2025 and early 2026, which have included the cave surveyors in the recovery teams. Thus far, we have recovered portions of three adults and one juvenile peccary from that area of the cave. A fifth individual, another adult, was discovered in January of 2026 in a separate area.
The first two skulls were stabilized, 3D scanned, printed, painted and presented to the Shenandoah Caverns Manager in time to be displayed during Virginia Cave Week, June 1-7, 2025. Our Virginia Cave Collection Permit has been extended to continue excavations and recovery through 2027, stabilization and curation of the peccaries and other remains continue at East Tennessee State University's Gray Fossil Site & Museum.
David A. Hubbard, Jr., Blaine W. Schubert, and Carol Tiderman