| “ | A legendary killer. The most famous extinct prehistoric cat of all. Smilodon, better known as the fabled, fearsome Sabre-Toothed Cat. The most powerful big cat of all time. Fast and elegant, it's a real-natural born killer. Its literal meaning is "Knife Tooth." The largest of all the Sabre-Toothed Cats, they're up to three meters long, have saber-teeth, hunt in packs, and are ruthless predators. | „ |
| — Allen Johnson, about Smilodon in Saving the Sabre-Tooth | ||
Smilodon (name meaning "Knife Tooth"), also called the Sabre-Tooth Cat as well as previously and mistakenly called the Sabre-Tooth Tiger, is a genus of large predatory saber-toothed cat that originated during the Early Pleistocene epoch in what is now North and South America. Defiantly the most famous prehistoric cat of all time, Smilodon is recognized for their two large, saber-like teeth, as its name suggests. Measuring 3 meters long and weighing between 50 and 500 kg, this is the largest and most powerful saber-toothed cat. Originally from North America, Smilodon crossed the land bridge from North America and came to South America, becoming an apex predator that replaced the native Terror Birds as the top predators.
One of the primary creatures for the park, in the Series 3 episode "Saving the Sabre Tooth," an entire pride of S. populator, led by an individual nicknamed Half-Tooth, and their cubs were brought to the park from Early Pleistocene South America, 1 million years ago. Later a pair of S. fatalis and their cubs were brought to the park from Late Pleistocene North America 30,000 years ago. Additonally an injured male S. gracilis was rescued from Late Pleistocene Mexico 10,000 years ago. They reside in the Saber Tooth Rock Enclosure as one of the park's famous animals.
In the Series 3 finale "Mammoth's Undertaking Journey", a S. fatalis was seen hunting a herd of bison and again when it was heading towards the team's campsite before being scared off.
Facts[]
Era & Discovery[]
Smilodon lived throughout North and South America during the Pleistocene epoch, over 2 million years ago, sharing its environment with other mammals, such as Arctotherium, Doedicurus, Glyptodon, Phorusrhacos, Macrauchenia, Megatherium, Toxodon, and even the mighty Columbian and Woolly Mammoths. About 3 million years ago, Sabre-Tooth Cats were once the top predators in North America. Originally from North America, they came to South America 2 million years ago and the balance of life in South America changed as they became and took over the role as the top predators.
As they spread down to South America, they were fast taking over from Terror Birds. Smilodon was fierce enough to terrorize the Terror Birds. Smilodon were very successful predators, among the apex predators of the Ice Age, and survived up until as recently as 10,000 years ago. Over time, the world around them changed too much: the climate became cooler and drier and the larger prey they specialized in killing, such as Toxodon and Macrauchenia, disappeared. Therefore, the world of the Saber-Tooth came to an end. It is possible that the Smilodon were wiped out also by humans along with many megafauna animals.
Smilodon skeleton
Smilodon was first discovered in 1842 by Peter Wilhelm Lund. Although it was their original name, thus they were commonly known as the Saber-Toothed Tiger, Smilodon was not at all closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. Ergo, there is now no such thing as a Saber Tooth Tiger. The correct name for these beasts is Saber Tooth Cat. The genus includes the well-known North American species S. fatalis, found in large numbers in the La Brea tar pits, but the largest species is S. populator from South America. S. gracilis is found in Mexico. Smilodon has also become the most famous of all prehistoric felines as well as one of the most-well known prehistoric creatures in the world.
Physical Attributes[]
There have been many different species of Smilodon. At around 55 to 100 kilograms (120 to 220 lb), the smallest is S. gracilis, whereas the largest, at between 350 and 500 kilograms (770 to 1,100 lb), is S. populator. Weighing about 150 to 300 kilograms (330 to 660 lb), S. fatalis is somewhere in the middle. Females had large, stocky front legs and that's because of the large animals, like Toxodon and Macrauchenia, that they had to bring down. As a result, Smilodon was a very large, very solid cat, built to wrestle their prey into submission rather than to chase it down. Powerfully built, Smilodon possessed large, deadly saber-teeth that it used to kill its prey by crushing its throat, and it was capable of running at immense speeds of approximately 60 kph (37 mph). However, despite their speed and power, Smilodon were not built to chase down small and fast-moving deer or gazel-like prey, especially over long distances.
Their saber-teeth are awe-inspiring. And paleontologists are fairly certain about how Smilodon used them. One devastating bite to the throat of their prey and their saber-teeth sliced through all the major blood vessels, simultaneously severing the blood supply and the jugular, and therefore strangled and crushed the windpipe. That meant the prey couldn't attack back, couldn't kick them with hooves, couldn't injure them at all. One single bite and the prey was dead. Those Sabre–Teeth were a really ingenious killing technique, but only when the prey was totally subdued are the famous sabers drawn. They were extraordinary precise and accurate tools for killing.
But these were the original double-edged swords. The lethal 20-centimeter sabers were actually quite fragile. Since they could not bite into bone, Smilodon could only eat the fleshier parts of a carcass. It's those huge incisor teeth that made the Sabre Tooth Cat such a successful, specialized killer.
Behavior & Traits[]
Some scientists today theorize that Smilodon lived and behaved in an almost identical way to modern African lions. For example, Smilodon lived in tightly–knit clans. Male Smilodon could take over clans at the age of four years, the females did at least 90% of the hunting, and males doing most of the inner-breed fighting. Though they typically hunted in packs, a single Smilodon was just as dangerous as a pack of them. Like many predators, they would typically go for easy prey and would pick off any who strayed from the group.
Smilodon also used similar techniques as lions to hunt prey. When hunting, the females hunted together as a pack, inching forward to set the trap. They would stalk animal herds for up to two hours if need be. Gradually, they fanned out with the lead female moving wide – trying to encircle their prey. Smilodon were powerful killers and these cats were able to accelerate explosively at amazing bursts of speed, but like all cats, they could only run over a short distance as they were not built for long chases. Unless they got close, they didn't stand a chance. Even one false move and they would have to start all over again.
Once they charged at their prey, Smilodon erupted out of the grass. The lead female drove the prey towards the other females. Surprisingly, as the females fought to restrain their prey, they did not use their infamous teeth, in case they break them. First, they worked together to pin down the struggling animal under the weight of their bodies. Smilodon killed its prey by using its immense strength to pin its prey down before crushing its prey's throat with its saber-teeth. Only when the prey is totally subdued are the famous sabers drawn.
Like some modern-day species of large cats, Smilodon would gnaw on the bones of their prey. But when fighting against more capable and defensive prey or opponents, Smilodon would instead go into an extremely wild, uncontrolled, dangerous and unpredictable battle frenzy; madly slashing at the opponent with its claws, and lashing out at anything else in its way that got too close.
Prehistoric Earth: A Natural History[]
Series 3[]
While traveling through the plains of Early Pleistocene South America after rescuing the Toxodon, after the team spot a Smilodon cub being chased by a group of Phorusrhacos until they scare away by an adult male with a broken left saber Allen names Half-Tooth. They follow them back to a pride of Smilodon who were enjoying the warm weather. Later after rescuing the Terror Birds, two Smilodon brothers challenges Half-Tooth for leadership of the clan, and he is forced to back down. The team splits into two, one group stay to watch the pride while Allen and the rest of the team follows Half-Tooth through the shrub forest. While Allen was following Half-Tooth's travel, he rescues South America's other mega herbivores, such as Doedicurus and Megatherium.
Meanwhile as the rest of the team watches the pride as the brothers take over it, they eventually watched a group of females hunt a herd of Macrauchenia. They eventually rescued the herd and a herd of Hippidion after the Smilodon females brings down one of the Macrauchenia herd members. Allen and the other team members follows Half-Tooth as he hunts for food in the Shrub forest, however he failed to catch a male Macrauchenia after a Megatherium appeared to graze on leaves. However, Half-Tooth managed to steal a kill from a Phorusrhacos after it killed a baby Macrauchenia. Sometime later as the rest of the team were watching the pride as they were feasting on a Toxodon carcass until a Megatherium appeared to scavenge the carcass and killed one of the brothers with it's claws.
The team reunites as they see Half-Tooth challenging the remaining brother for leadership and the fight resulted with the remaining brother become fatally wounded and died sometime later. After Half-Tooth reclaimed his crown, the team brings Half-Tooth and the rest of the pride back to the park. Later that same episode, they rescue a pair of North American Smilodon, where they rescued other animals to coexisted with. Rebecca and some of the team members travels through the open plains until a female roared prepare to attack them until she was scared away. One failed to catch a White Tailed Deer until Allen and the team used a tranquilizer dart to bring both a male and the female.
The team finally rescues another male Smilodon and introduces him to a female, they rescued in the hopes they would breed them so they could have some cubs.
Later during the final episode of Series 3 while travel through Late Pleistocene North America to rescue Ice Age animals, Allen and the team spots a Smilodon hunting a herd of Bison and successfully kills it with it's saber-teeth. Later that night as the team were warming themselves with a fire they made, a Smilodon appears at their campsite and Dutch barks at it which causes Allen and Rebecca to scare the cat away.
Journal Entry[]
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Smilodon is the third species of prehistoric cat brought to the park.
- Smilodon is the largest saber-toothed cat to be brought to the park.
- The sound effects for Smilodon are the stock wild cat roars (cheetah, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, and tiger) as well as some bison, dinosaur, and elephant sounds.