The saber tooth tiger (Smilodon populator, Smilodon gracilis, or Smilodon fatalis) is an extinct species of the family Felidae.
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It is also known as the saber tooth cat and by its collective genus Smilodon.
Despite its name, it doesn’t share relations to modern day cats and tigers. Saber tooth tigers were alive during the Pleistocene epoch, also known as the Ice Age.
These prehistoric animals get their name from the large, canine saber teeth they had, which grew close to 7 in (17.8 cm) in length.
Their other lower canine teeth were smaller. They were large cats that hunted in packs and fed on large animals such as the woolly mammoth, the bison, and camels.
They roamed lands that are presently North America, South America, and Europe. There are hundreds of fossils of the saber tooth tiger species at the La Brea Tar Pits in the American city of Los Angeles.
It is believed that they went extinct close to 10,000 years ago due to climate change and loss of habitat.
Saber tooth tigers (Smilodon) were 79–98 in (2–2.5 m) long and were 3.6 ft (1.1 m) tall on average. Despite being large animals, they had limbs that were short but very well developed.
They are most notable for having had long canines, close to 7 in (17.8 cm) long. Unlike their outer canine teeth, their lower canines were smaller and their molar teeth were smooth.
Fossils at La Brea Tar Pits have also led scientists to believe that saber tooth tigers resemble the African lions (Panthera leo) of today.
They may also have had brown-colored coats, with possibly a darker stripe and spotted patterns. They also had short tails.
Saber tooth tigers (Smilodon) could run at speeds of 25-31 mph (40-50 kph).
Saber-toothed tigers could eat a variety of other animals such as large mammals, camels, woolly mammoths, the broad-snouted caiman, the bison, the Platygonus, the Hemiauchenia, and other extinct animals. They usually hunted in packs.
Saber tooth tigers (Smilodon) were big cats that lived and roamed freely in the forests and shrublands of what are today the continents of North and South America and Europe.
Saber-toothed cats (Smilodon) reproduced by mating and giving birth to live young ones.
Male saber-toothed tigers are believed to have fought each other for mating rights with a female. The female saber-toothed cat could breed more than once in one season.
They used to breed with a male, gestate for eight months, and give birth to three (usually) young ones.
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Ref: nationalgeographic, kidadl, newdinosaurs, wikipedia, igws.indiana.edu
