The Ferocious Saber-Toothed Kittens of the Ice Age

Saber-toothed cats (sometimes colloquially known as “saber-toothed tigers”) were the fierce felines that wandered parts of North America during the ice age. As big as lions, most of their species did not look as much like the modern-day cats. With giant forelimbs and the elongated iconic canines, they (even as kittens) were exceptionally tough and muscular.

Read on here to know some really interesting facts about these social carnivores of Ice Age, ‘saber-toothed kittens.’

Smilodon Fatalis is the Best-Known Species of Saber-Toothed Cats

Source = Atlasobscura

Smilodon fatalis were one of the best-known genera and a social carnivore of saber-toothed cats. They were from the Pleistocene epoch (37,000 to 9,000 years ago) and had more robust skeletons than wild cats. The saber-toothed cats were discovered worldwide from the Eocene epoch until the end of the Pleistocene epoch (42 million years ago-11,000 years ago).

They Came to Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits in Search of Prey

Source = Newdinosaurs

The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles has a huge collection of fossils of these ancient carnivores. They lived up for around 11,000 years there. They weighed about 100-620 pounds and used their elongated canines for precision killing. 90% of them were carnivores who stumbled upon these pits in search of prey. While some managed to get their food, the others had themselves stuck in the thick petroleum goop.

They Were Heavier Than the Dangerous Wolves

Source = Purch

The prehistoric saber-toothed cats don’t have any close modern descendants. It is believed that they used their massive and powerful forelimb muscles to pull down and position their prey for deathly bites. The saber-toothed cats were quite heavier than the dire wolves.

They Were Unlike the Modern Big, Wild Cats

Source = Sciencenews

The saber-toothed kittens were not like the modern vulnerable kittens which grow stronger as they age. According to the bone density samples found, the saber-toothed kittens had really strong, muscular forelimbs. So it’s likely that the Smilodons did not run very fast and ambushed rather than chasing down their prey.

They Most-Likely Preyed on Big Beasts & Large Herbivores

Source = Newsweek

Big beasts like elephants, rhinos, and other giant herbivores that are no longer in existence were their prey. When pitted against other predators or similar-sized cats, saber-toothed kittens were much stronger and heavier.

They Don’t Have Any Direct Descendants in Today’s Times

Source = Hswstatic

Smilodon does not have any direct descendant today as all of its species were completely wiped out during the Ice Age. The big modern cats come from a different lineage. Lions, leopards, and cheetahs tend to chase their prey and cougars usually ambush.

They Were Not Tigers & Only Distant Relatives of Modern Cats

Source = Medium

Mairin Balisi, the UCLA doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, conducted an analysis of over 35,000 bones from saber-toothed cats and dire wolves for more than 6 months at the La Brea Tar Pits' George C. Page Museum. He stated that the saber-toothed cats were not tigers and have no close relationship with modern cats.