Saber-toothed tigers. Ancient saber-toothed tiger. Saber-toothed cats (lat. Machairodontinae) Saber-toothed tiger sizes

12.03.2020

Most of us met saber-toothed tigers on the pages of Alexander Volkov's fairy tale "The Wizard of the Emerald City". In fact, the name "saber-toothed tiger" is far from consistent with the structure and habits of these animals, and is used mainly due to mass media replication.

Modern science believes that these animals lived in prides, hunted together and were generally closer to modern lions, but this does not speak of their relationship and even identity. The ancestors of modern cats and the ancestors of saber-toothed cats separated in the process of evolution millions of years ago. In Eurasia, saber-toothed cats are thought to have died out 30,000 years ago, and in the Americas, the last saber-toothed cat died about 10,000 years ago. However, information is coming from Africa that suggests that the saber-toothed tiger may still have survived in the wilds of this mainland.
One person who talks about this possibility is Christian Le Noel, a well-known French African big game hunter. In the second half of the twentieth century, Noel made a living organizing African hunts for moneybags. He spent many years in the Central African Republic near Lake Chad. Below is an abridged translation of Le Noel's article on saber-toothed tigers.
Saber-toothed tigers in central Africa?
In the Central African Republic, where I worked professionally as a hunt manager and organizer for twelve years, local African tribes talk a lot about a saber-toothed predator, which they call Koq-Nindji, which translates as "mountain tiger".
Interestingly, among the legendary animals, Koq-Nindji occupies a privileged position. The fact is that stories about this animal are common among the peoples of various races and tribes, many of which have never met each other. All these peoples call the habitat of the "mountain tiger" the area bounded by the mountainous Tibesti plateau, the left tributary of the Nile - Bahr el-Ghazal, the plateaus of the Sahara desert and further the mountains of Uganda and Kenya. Thus, the appearance of this animal was noted in several thousand square kilometers.

I got most of the information about the "mountain tiger" from the old hunters of the almost extinct tribe of Youulous. These people are convinced that Koq-Nindji is still found in their region. They describe him as a cat larger than a lion. The skin has a reddish tint, covered with stripes and spots. The feet of his paws are overgrown with thick hair, this leads to the fact that the animal leaves practically no traces. But most of all, the hunters were amazed and frightened by the huge fangs protruding from the mouth of a predator.
The description of the animal practically corresponds to the idea of scientists about the appearance of the saber-toothed, whose fossil remains were discovered and dated from 30 to 10 thousand years ago. Thus, the ancient saber-toothed tigers lived at the time when the first modern people appeared.
Hunters of African tribes are practically illiterate people and have never seen a single textbook. I decided to take advantage of this and showed them some photographs of feline predators that exist in our time. In the middle of the stack of photographs, I placed an image of a saber-toothed tiger. All hunters unhesitatingly chose him as a "mountain tiger".
As evidence, they even showed me a cave into which the animal dragged the prey taken from the hunters. Then the tiger carried away the carcass of a 300-kilogram antelope with no apparent effort. According to the hunters, this was thirty years before our conversation, which took place in 1970.
Among the peoples living in the north of the Central African Republic, stories about the "water lion" are also widespread. I'm guessing it's the same animal. Or these animals are close relatives.
There is a written evidence of a European about the "water lion". In 1910, a French column led by an officer and non-commissioned officers was sent to suppress the rebellion of local residents. For crossing the Bemingui River, pirogues carrying ten people were used. In the military archives, an officer's report has been preserved about how a certain lion attacked a pirogue and carried away one of the shooters in its mouth.

The wife of one of the hunters told me that in the fifties the "water lion" was caught in the fishing peaks. Such fish traps can reach a diameter of more than a meter in these places. So, the woman said that the animal was killed, and the village headman got the skull. Despite the large amount of money I offered the headman, he refused to show me the skull and said that the woman was mistaken. Apparently, this reaction is connected with the local custom not to share secrets with whites. “These are our last secrets. Whites know everything about everything and they took everything from us. If they find out our last secrets, there will be nothing left for us, ”the locals say.
According to local residents, "water lions" live in caves located in the rocky banks of local rivers. Predators are predominantly nocturnal. “Their eyes sparkle like carbuncles in the night, and their roar is like the roar of the wind before a storm,” say the locals.
My friend Marcel Halley, who hunted in Gabon in the 1920s, witnessed a strange fact. Once, while hunting in a swamp, he was attracted by strange wheezing from the thicket. He found an injured female hippopotamus. On the body of the animal there were several deep and long wounds that could not be inflicted by other hippos, especially since these animals never attack females. Only males fight among themselves. Among other wounds, the animal had two huge and deep ones: one on the neck and the second on the shoulder.

A similar incident happened to me in 1970. I was asked to destroy a hippopotamus who had become aggressive, he attacked pirogues on which people swam from Chad to Cameroon. After killing the animal, I found wounds on its body that matched the description of Marcel Halley.

The wounds on the neck and shoulder were round in shape and were so deep that the arm sank into them up to the elbow. The wounds were not yet infected, which indicated their recent origin. These wounds could very well have been inflicted by a predator resembling a saber-toothed tiger, and could not have been inflicted by any known existing predator.
In these places, representatives of the flora extinct on the rest of the Earth, such as, for example, cycads from the genus Encephalartos, have been preserved. Why not assume that animals that are considered fossils also managed to survive?

Along with the mammoth, the saber-toothed tiger was one of the most famous mammals of the megafauna during the Pleistocene era. But did you know that this formidable predator was only distantly related to the modern tiger, and its fangs were as fragile as they were long? In this article, you will discover 10 interesting facts about the saber-toothed tiger illustrated with pictures and photos.

1. The saber-toothed tiger was not the ancestor of the modern tiger.

All modern tiger subspecies (Panthera tigris), for example, the Siberian tiger belongs to the genus Panthera (Panthera) from the subfamily big cats (Pantherinae). Saber-toothed tigers, in turn, belong to the subfamily of saber-toothed cats that became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene. (Machairodontinae), which is only distantly related to modern , and .

2. Smilodon was not the only genus of saber-toothed cats

Despite the fact that today the most famous genus of saber-toothed tigers is Smilodon (Smilodōn), he was far from the only representative of the subfamily of saber-toothed cats. During the Cenozoic era, the subfamily included more than a dozen genera, including Megantereon (Megantereon), one of whose representatives is shown in the photo above. The classification of prehistoric cats is complicated by the fact that at that time feline mammals with similar anatomical features lived on Earth, but their relationship with saber-toothed tigers is highly doubtful in paleontological circles.

3. The genus Smilodon included three separate species

We know the least about a small (weighing up to 100 kg) species Smilodon gracilis, which lived in the western part of the United States between 2.5 million and 500 thousand years ago. Average in size, but not in popularity among a wide range of people Smilodon Fatalis, lived in North and South America about 1.6 million-10 thousand years ago. The largest member of the genus Smilodon was the species Smilodon populator, some individuals of which reached a mass of about 500 kg.

4. The fangs of a saber-toothed tiger were almost 30 cm long

No one would be interested in saber-toothed tigers if they looked like just big cats. What makes this representative of the megafauna really worthy of attention? Of course, its huge fangs, which in large species reached a length of up to 30 cm. Strangely enough, these monstrous teeth were surprisingly fragile, easily broken during close combat and never grew back.

5 Saber Tooth Tigers Had Weak Jaws

The saber-toothed tiger could open its mouth like a snake at an angle of 120 degrees, which is about twice as wide as a modern lion (or a yawning domestic cat). Paradoxically, the various species of Smilodon could not use such a swing to forcefully bite their prey, as they had to protect the precious fangs from unwanted damage (see previous point).

6. Saber-toothed tiger was waiting for prey, hiding in a tree

The long and fragile fangs of the saber-toothed tiger, combined with weak jaws, made their hunting style highly specialized. As far as palaeontologists know, saber-toothed tigers pounced on their prey from the lower branches of trees, plunging their "sabers" deep into the neck of the unfortunate victim, and then retired to a safe distance.

7. Saber-toothed tigers could live in packs

Many modern big cats have led paleontologists to suggest that saber-toothed tigers lived in packs. Evidence supporting this theory comes from signs of old age and chronic disease on most Smilodon fossil specimens. It is unlikely that sick and old individuals could survive in the wild without outside help, or at least the protection of other members of the pack.

8. Rancho La Brea - the richest source of fossil remains of saber-toothed tigers

Most fossils of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals have been found in remote corners of the planet, but thousands of specimens of the saber-toothed tiger have been recovered from the remains found in tar lakes (tar pits) on the territory of Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles. Most likely, prehistoric cats were attracted to other mammals stuck in the tar, which they considered a light lunch.

9. The saber-toothed tiger had a stockier body than today's big cats.

Apart from the long, saber-shaped fangs, there is another way to distinguish the saber-toothed tiger from today's big cats. They had thicker necks, broad chests, and short, muscular legs. The stocky body suited their way of life well, as they did not have to chase their prey through endless grasslands, but only to jump on it from the lower branches of trees.

10 Saber Tooth Tiger Extinct 10,000 Years Ago

Why did saber-toothed tigers disappear from the face of the Earth by the end of the last ice age? It is unlikely that primitive people have a direct relationship to this. Most likely, a combination of climate change and the gradual disappearance of large mammals that served as prey for them led to their extinction. It is hypothesized that intact DNA samples could be used to clone the saber-toothed tiger in a scientific program known as de-extinction.

Saber-toothed tigers are formidable and dangerous predators of the cat family, completely extinct in ancient times. A distinctive feature of these animals were the upper fangs of impressive size, shaped like sabers. What is known about saber-toothed cats by modern scientists? Were these animals tigers? What did they look like, how did they get used to living, and why did they disappear? Let's fast forward through the thickness of the centuries - to those times when huge ferocious cats, going hunting, confidently walked the planet with the gait of true animal kings ...

Cat or tiger?

First of all, it should be noted that the term "saber-toothed tigers", which seems so familiar, is actually incorrect.

Biological science knows the subfamily of saber-toothed cats (Machairodontinae). However, these ancient animals have very little in common with tigers. In the first and second, the proportions and structure of the body differ significantly, the lower jaws are connected to the skull in different ways. In addition, the striped "brindle" coloring is not typical for any of the saber-toothed cats. Their way of life is also different from that of tigers: paleontologists suggest that these animals were not loners, living and hunting in prides, like lions.

However, since the term "saber-toothed tigers" is used almost everywhere, and even in the scientific literature, we will also use this beautiful allegory below.

Tribes of saber-toothed cats

Until 2000, the subfamily of saber-toothed cats, or machairodonts (Machairodontinae), united three large tribes.

Representatives of the first tribe, Machairodontini (sometimes also called Homoterini), are distinguished by exceptionally large upper fangs, wide and serrated on the inside. When hunting, predators relied more on the impact of this crushing "weapon" than on the bite. The smallest cats of the Machairod tribe were commensurate with a small modern leopard, the largest exceeded the size of a very large tiger.

The saber-toothed tigers of the second tribe, Smilodontini, are characterized by longer upper canine teeth, but they were much narrower and not as serrated as those of the Machairods. Their downward fangs attack was the most deadly and perfect among the representatives of all saber-toothed cats. As a rule, smilodons were the size of an Amur tiger or lion, but the American species of this predator has the glory of the largest saber-toothed cat in history.

The third tribe, Metailurini, is the most ancient. That is why the teeth of these animals are, as it were, a "transitional stage" between the fangs of ordinary and saber-toothed cats. It is believed that they separated from other machairodonts quite early, and their evolution took place somewhat differently. Due to the rather weak expression of the "saber-toothed" signs, representatives of this tribe began to be attributed directly to the cats, considering them "small cats", or "pseudo-saber-toothed". Since 2000, this tribe is no longer included in the subfamily of interest to us.

Saber tooth period

Saber-toothed cats inhabited the Earth for quite a long time - more than twenty million years, appearing for the first time in the early Miocene and finally disappearing in the late Pleistocene period. During all this time, they gave rise to many genera and species, significantly differing in appearance and size. However, hypertrophied upper fangs (in some species they could reach more than twenty centimeters in length) and the ability to open their mouths very widely (sometimes even one hundred and twenty degrees!) Traditionally made up their common features.

Where did saber-toothed cats live?

These animals were characterized by an ambush attack. Having pressed the victim to the ground with powerful front paws or dug into her throat, the saber-toothed tiger instantly cut her carotid artery and trachea. The accuracy of the bite was the main weapon of this predator - after all, fangs stuck in the bones of prey could break. Such a mistake would be fatal for an unfortunate predator, depriving him of the ability to hunt and thereby dooming him to death.

Why did saber-toothed cats become extinct?

During the Pleistocene, or "Ice Age", which spanned the period from two million to twenty-five to ten thousand years ago, many large mammals gradually disappeared - cave bears, woolly rhinos, giant sloths, mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. Why did this happen?

During the period of glacial cooling, many plants rich in proteins, which served as the usual food for giant herbivores, died out. At the end of the Pleistocene period, the climate on the planet became warmer and much drier. The forests were gradually replaced by open grassy prairies, but the new vegetation, adapted to the changed conditions, did not have the nutritional value of the former. Herbivorous sloths and mammoths gradually died out, not finding enough food. Accordingly, there were fewer animals that could be hunted by predators. The saber-toothed tiger, an ambush hunter for big game, turned out to be a hostage to the current situation. The structural features of its jaw apparatus did not allow it to prey on small animals, its massive build and short tail did not make it possible to catch up with fast-footed prey in open areas, which were becoming more numerous. The changed conditions led to the fact that the ancient tigers with saber fangs did not get a chance to survive. Slowly, but inexorably, all the varieties of these animals that exist in nature disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Without exception, all saber-toothed cats are completely extinct animals that did not leave direct descendants.

Machairods

Of all the representatives of saber-toothed cats known to science, it was the mahairod that most of all resembled a tiger. In nature, there were several types of mahairods, which had significant differences in appearance, but they were united by jagged edges of long upper fangs, shaped like "mahairs" - curved swords.

These ancient animals appeared in Eurasia about fifteen million years ago, and two million years have passed since their disappearance. The weight of the largest representatives of this tribe reached half a ton, and in size they were quite commensurate with modern horses. Archaeologists are convinced that the machairod was the largest wild cat of its time. Hunting large herbivores - rhinos and elephants, these animals quite successfully competed with other large predators of their time, dire wolves and cave bears. Mahairods became the "progenitors" of a more perfect species of saber-toothed cats - Homotheres.

Homotheria

It is believed that these saber-toothed cats appeared about five million years ago at the turn of the Miocene and Pleistocene. They were distinguished by a more slender physique, vaguely resembling a modern lion. However, their hind legs were somewhat shorter than their front ones, which gave these predators some resemblance to a hyena. The upper fangs of Homotheres were shorter and wider than those of Smilodon - representatives of another tribe of saber-toothed cats that inhabited the Earth in parallel with them. Along with this, the presence of a large number of notches on the fangs allowed scientists to conclude that these animals were capable of inflicting not only chopping, but also cutting blows with them.

Compared with other saber-toothed cats, Homotherium had a very high endurance, was adapted to long (though not fast) running and crossing long distances. There are suggestions that these now extinct animals led a solitary lifestyle. However, most researchers are still inclined to believe that Homotheres hunted in groups like other saber-toothed cats, since it was easier to kill stronger and larger prey this way.

Smilodons

Compared to other saber-toothed cats that the ancient animal world of Earth knew, Smilodon had a more powerful physique. The largest representative of saber-toothed cats - the smilodon populator that lived on the American continent - grew up to one hundred and twenty-five centimeters high at the withers, and its length from nose to tail could be two and a half meters. The fangs of this beast (together with the roots) reached twenty-nine centimeters in length!

Smilodon lived and hunted in prides, which included one or two dominant males, several females and young. The coloration of these animals could well be spotted, like a leopard. It is also possible that the males had a short mane.

Many scientific reference books and fiction contain information about smilodon, he acts as a character in films ("Jurassic Portal", "Prehistoric Park") and cartoons ("Ice Age"). Perhaps this is the most famous animal of all, which are commonly called saber-toothed tigers.

Clouded leopard - a modern descendant of the saber-toothed tiger

Today it is considered that indirect, but the closest relative of Smilodon is the clouded leopard. It belongs to the subfamily Pantherinae (panther cats), within which it is allocated to the genus Neofelis.

Its body is quite massive and compact at the same time - these features were also inherent in saber-toothed cats of antiquity. Among the representatives of modern cats, this beast has the longest fangs (both upper and lower) relative to its own size. In addition, the jaws of this predator are able to open 85 degrees, which is much more than any other modern cat.

Not being a direct descendant of saber-toothed cats, the clouded leopard is a clear proof that the method of hunting with the use of deadly "fangs-sabers" may well be used by a predator in modern times.

I am sure that almost all modern children and adults know that saber-toothed tigers once walked our planet. In many ways, we owe this knowledge to the cartoon "Ice Age", where one of the main characters - Diego - is a saber-toothed tiger. But were there really such animals, and if so, what happened to them?

In fact, the concept of "saber-toothed tiger" is rather everyday. In reality, everything looks a little different and, as is often the case in science, more complicated. I will try to do without complex scientific terms and briefly talk about extinct cats with huge fangs, which, by the way, completely disappeared not so long ago ...

Thanks to the found skeletons, scientists have learned that between 20 million years ago and up to 10,000 years ago, cats with very long fangs inhabited all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Such cats were bred into a separate subfamily of cats - saber-toothed cats. For a long time it was believed that all saber-toothed cats were large, such as the modern tiger or lion, but later it turned out that cats of all sizes were saber-toothed.

The question still remains without a clear answer: why do cats have such long fangs? On the one hand, such fangs made it possible to inflict very deep wounds on prey, on the other hand, they could be broken quite easily. In addition, for a bite with such fangs, the mouth of a predator had to open more than 120 degrees, and with such a structure of the jaw, the bite force is reduced. According to one version, the fangs were of purely aesthetic value and served as a way to attract individuals of the opposite sex, but the version that the fangs served to inflict deep wounds sounds more plausible.

Let's return to the saber-toothed tigers, or rather to Diego from Madagascar. Who really was Diego? The subfamily of saber-toothed cats is divided into two groups or, in scientific language, into two tribes - mahairods and smilodons. The main difference between them was the size - smilodons were the largest representatives of the cat family on earth. And it is the smilodon that is called the saber-toothed tiger, respectively, Diego is the smilodon.

The reason for the disappearance of saber-toothed cats, however, like many other large mammals, was the ice age, which covered the period from two million to twenty-five thousand years ago. Smilodons gradually lose their usual food - large mammals, including mammoths. The structure of cats did not allow them to hunt small game, which led to their gradual extinction.

Comparison of smilodon with a human and a tiger:

Remember me? If not, then let me remind you that this small cat has the longest fangs (relative to body size) of all modern members of the cat family. And it is the smoky leopard that is considered, if not a direct descendant, but the closest relative of Smilodon.

The saber-toothed tiger is a giant among cats. For several million years, he dominated the territory of America, disappeared quite suddenly almost 10 thousand years ago. The true causes of extinction have not been established. Today there are no animals that can be safely attributed to his descendants.

Only one thing is known with reliable accuracy - the beast has nothing to do with tigers.

Similar anatomical features of the skull (very long fangs, wide-opening mouth) are observed in clouded leopards. Despite this, evidence of a close relationship between predators could not be found.

Genus history

The animal belongs to the cat family, subfamily Machairodontinae or Saber-toothed cats, genus Smilodon. Translated into Russian, "Smilodon" means "dagger tooth". The first individuals appeared during the Paleogene period about 2.5 million years ago. The tropical climate with little fluctuations in temperature and lush vegetation favored the general flourishing of mammals. Predators of the Paleogene period rapidly multiplied, did not experience a shortage of food.

The Pleistocene that replaced the Paleogene was characterized by a harsher climate with alternating glaciations and periods of slight warming. Saber-toothed cats adapted well to the new habitat, they felt great. The distribution area of animals captured South and North America.

At the end of the last ice age, the climate became drier and warmer. Prairie appeared where there used to be impenetrable forests. Most of the megafauna could not withstand climatic changes and died out, the remaining animals moved to open spaces, learned to run fast, and evade pursuit.

Having lost their usual prey, predators could not switch to smaller animals. Features of the constitution of the beast - short paws and a short tail, a bulky body made it clumsy and inactive. He could not maneuver, pursue the victim for a long time.

Long fangs made it difficult to catch small animals, they broke during an unsuccessful attempt to grab the victim, sticking into the ground instead of it. It is quite possible that it was because of the famine that the period of saber-toothed tigers ended and there is no need to look for other explanations.

Kinds

The species Smilodon fatalis appeared on the American continents 1.6 million years ago. It had an average size and weight comparable to the mass of a modern tiger - 170 - 280 kg. Its subspecies include Smilodon californicus and Smilodon floridus.
The species Smilodon gracilis lived in the western regions of America.
The species Smilodon populator was distinguished by the largest size, had a stocky physique, and exceeded the weight of the largest tigers. He effectively killed the victim by cutting the carotid artery and trachea with sharp fangs.

paleontological finds

In 1841, the first report of a saber-toothed tiger appeared in the fossil record. In the state of Minas - Geiras in eastern Brazil, where the Danish paleontologist and naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund excavated, fossil remains were found. The scientist studied and described in detail the relics, systematized the facts and singled out the beast in a separate genus.

La Brea Ranch, located in a bituminous valley near the city of Los Angeles, is famous for many finds of prehistoric animals, including the saber-toothed cat. During the ice age, there was a black lake in the valley, filled with a composition of thickened oil (liquid asphalt). A thin layer of water gathered on its surface and attracted birds and animals with its brilliance.

Animals went to the watering hole, and fell into a deadly trap. One had only to step into the fetid slurry and the legs themselves stuck to its surface. Under the weight of their body, the victims of optical illusion gradually sank into the asphalt, from which even the strongest individuals could not get out. The game bound by the lake seemed easy prey for predators, but making their way to it, they themselves found themselves in a trap.

In the middle of the last century, people began to extract asphalt from the lake and unexpectedly discovered many well-preserved remains of animals buried alive there. More than two thousand skulls of saber-toothed cats were raised outside. As it turned out later, only young individuals fell into the trap. Apparently old animals, already taught by bitter experience, bypassed this place.

Scientists from the University of California took up the study of the remains. With the help of a tomograph, the structure of the teeth and bone density were established, a number of genetic and biochemical studies were carried out. The skeleton of a saber-toothed cat was restored in great detail. Modern computer technology has helped to recreate the image of the animal and even calculate the strength of its bite.

Appearance

One can only guess how the saber-toothed tiger actually looks, because the image created by scientists is very conditional. In the photo, the saber-toothed tiger is not at all like the living representatives of the cat family. Large fangs and bearish proportions make it unique and one of a kind. The size of the saber-toothed tiger is comparable to the linear parameters of a large lion.

Body length 2.5 meters, height at the withers 100 - 125 cm.
An unusually short tail had a length of 20 - 30 cm. Such an anatomical feature made it impossible for predators to run fast. When turning at high speed, they could not maintain balance, maneuver and simply fell.
The weight of the beast reached 160 - 240 kg. Large individuals from the species Smilodon populator exceeded in weight and had a body weight of 400 kg.
The predator was distinguished by a powerful wrestling physique, awkward body proportions.
In the photo, saber-toothed cats have well-developed muscles, especially on the neck, chest and paws. Their forelimbs are longer than their hind ones, wide feet end in sharp retractable claws. The saber-toothed cat could easily grab the enemy with its front paws and that there is urine to knock him to the ground.
The skull of the saber-toothed tiger was 30 - 40 cm long. The frontal and occipital parts are smoothed, the massive facial part is extended forward, the mastoid process is well developed.
The jaws opened very wide, almost 120 degrees. The special fastening of muscles and tendons allowed the predator to press the upper jaw to the lower jaw, and not vice versa, as in all modern cats.
The upper fangs of the saber-toothed tiger protruded 17-18 cm from the outside, their roots penetrated into the bones of the skull almost to the very eye sockets. The total length of the fangs reached 27 - 28 cm. They were squeezed from the sides, well honed at the very ends, pointed in front and behind, and had serrated teeth. The unusual structure allowed the fangs to damage the thick skin of animals and bite through the flesh, but deprived them of strength. When hitting the victim's bones, the fangs could easily break, so the success of the hunt always depended on the right direction and accuracy of the strike.
The predator's skin has not been preserved and its color can only be established hypothetically. The color, most likely, was a camouflage device, and therefore corresponded to the habitat. It is possible that in the Paleogene period, the wool had a sandy-yellow hue, and in the Ice Age only the white saber-toothed tiger was found.

Lifestyle and behavior

The ancient saber-toothed tiger is a representative of a completely different era and, in its behavior, bears little resemblance to modern cats. It is possible that predators lived in social groups, which included three or four females, several males and juveniles. It is possible that the number of females and males was the same. By hunting together, the animals could catch larger game, which means they could provide themselves with more food.

These assumptions are confirmed by paleontological finds - often several cat skeletons were found in one herbivore skeleton. An animal weakened by injuries and diseases, with such a lifestyle, could always count on a part of the prey. According to another theory, the tribesmen were not distinguished by nobility and ate a sick relative.

Hunting

For thousands of years, the predator has specialized in hunting thick-skinned animals. Having fangs capable of piercing their thick skin, during the ice ages, he staged a real terror. A small tail did not allow the beast to develop high speed and hunts fast-running game, so clumsy, massive herbivorous mammals became its victims.

The ancient saber-toothed tiger used cunning tricks and got as close to prey as possible. The victim was almost always taken by surprise, swiftly attacked and used real wrestling techniques at the same time. Due to the special structure of the paws and the well-developed muscles of the anterior shoulder girdle, the animal could hold the animal in a motionless state for a long time, thrusting its sharp claws into it and tearing the skin and flesh.

The size of the victim often exceeded the size of the saber-toothed tiger several times, but this did not save her from inevitable death. After the prey was knocked to the ground, the fangs of the predator sank deep into her throat.

The swiftness and accuracy of the attack, the minimum of noise during the attack increased the chances of the saber-toothed cat to eat its trophy on its own. Otherwise, larger predators and packs of wolves ran to the battlefield - and here they already had to fight not only for their prey, but also for their own lives.

The extinct saber-toothed cat ate exclusively animal food, was not distinguished by moderation in food, could eat 10-20 kg of meat at a time. Its diet included large ungulates, giant sloths. Favorite food - bison, mammoths, horses.

There is no reliable information about the reproduction and nursing of offspring. Since the predator belongs to the class of mammals, it can be assumed that its cubs fed on mother's milk for the first month of life. They had to survive in difficult conditions and how many kittens survived to puberty is not known. The lifespan of the animal is also not known.

A giant fossil saber-toothed cat may well be cloned by genetic engineering in the not too distant future. Scientists hope to isolate material suitable for the DNA experiment from the remains preserved in the permafrost. The proposed egg donor is an African lioness.
A lot of popular science films and cartoons have been shot about saber-toothed tigers. The most famous of them are "Ice Age" (one of the main characters of the cartoon is the good-natured smilodon Diego), "Walking with Monsters", "Prehistoric Predators". They touch upon interesting facts from the life of Smilodons, reconstruct the events of bygone days.
Predators in their habitat did not have serious competitors. Megatheria (giant sloths) posed a certain danger to them. It is possible that they not only ate vegetation, but also were not averse to including fresh meat in their diet. When meeting with a particularly large sloth, Smilodon could well become both an executioner and a victim.