Page 73 - Prehistoric Animals

Mac-Air-Od-Us

Machairodus

Machairodus (knife tooth) is a genus of the
large machairodont or ''sabre-toothed cat'' that
lived around the late Miocene to the Pleistocene,
10.000 years ago. It was about 2 metres long and
standing about 1 metre at the shoulder and weighed
around 100 kg 240 kg.

The size of Machairodus is generally used as
a guide; it’s around the same size as the modern
day lion. Since it was first named in 1832, by Jo-
hann Jakob Kaup, many new species have been
found and were discovered to be of varying sizes.
One species found in China was sited as one of the
largest of the genus, weighing in at around 440 kg.

Machairodus was a predator, but unlike its
modern day counterpart, it could take on much big-
ger and more dangerous prey and do it without in-
jury to itself. Unlike the lions of today, Machairo-
dus was not built to chase its prey. It was a silent
stalker that ambushed its prey, and the key to its
hunting prowess were its teeth. One hunting
sanario could be; Machairodus after watching its
prey would take up a high position - up a tree or on
a ledge - and wait for its prey to pass below. Drop-
ping down on the prey it would sink its teeth deep
into its hide. As the animal panicked, the big cat
would retreat to a safe distance and watch and wait.
Once its prey, through the loss of blood, was weak
enough to be of no danger to it, Machairodus would
move in.

Machairodus roamed the planet for a very
long time and all the evidence available suggests it
was very successful. Yet, a mere 10.000 years ago,
it disappeared. Men were around at the time and
although some blame him, there is no evidence to
suggest man hunted the big cats into extinction. Af-
ter all, they were not an isolated Island species.
They were known across Europe, Asia, Africa and
North America. Could man have wiped them out on
every continent? Maybe the answer is more natural.
Maybe, they just bred (Breeding with like species )
themselves into extinction