Natural Trap Cave, Pit cave in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming, United States

Natural Trap Cave is a bell-shaped pit cave in the Madison Limestone of the Bighorn Mountains, northeast of Lovell, Wyoming. Its opening measures 12 by 15 feet (3.7 by 4.6 meters) at the surface, the shaft drops 85 feet (26 meters), and the floor spans about 120 feet (37 meters) across. The bottom holds fossil-bearing sediment more than 10 meters (33 feet) deep.

Scientists began systematic study of the cave in the 1970s, uncovering remains of animals that lived during the last ice age. Decades later, starting around 2014, new research teams returned to the site using modern techniques to reanalyze the finds.

The name comes from the cave's function: animals fell into the unmarked opening and could not climb out. The red jasper knife and a possible atlatl shaft found below the entrance show that people have long visited the pit. Today the site is studied by paleontologists rather than used by local communities.

The cave sits in a remote part of the Bighorn Mountains and can only be entered with a permit from the Bureau of Land Management, as the descent requires specialized equipment. Inside, temperatures stay cold year-round and conditions are very humid, so warm and waterproof clothing is a must.

Among the bones found here are remains of the American cheetah, a species that lived in North America before vanishing around 12,000 years ago. This discovery surprised researchers because very few physical remains of this animal had been found anywhere before.