You may be familiar with the character “Diego” from the animated movie “Ice Age” which is a Saber Tooth Tiger. If you have not watched “Ice Age” yet then we recommend it to watch the movie and familiarizing yourself with not only the “Saber Tooth Tiger” but also with other extinct animals of the Ice Age.
Here at Kidz Feed we have gathered a lot of interesting information about Saber Tooth Tigers and made sure that you miss out on nothing about them. It is recommended to read all the articles on the Saber Tooth Tiger before formulating your school research report. Let’s start with “What is a Saber Tooth Tiger?“
What is a Saber Tooth Tiger
- The saber-toothed tiger is a popular prehistoric animal that lived during the Ice Age and scientists (called paleontologists) have gathered information about them from their fossils.
- The Scientific name of Saber Tooth Tiger is Smilodon.
- It is an extinct carnivorous mammal that belongs to an extinct subfamily of Felidae called Machairodontinae.
- Though it has Tiger in its name it is not a tiger and is not even close to the modern cats.
- They are called Saber-Toothed because they have two long canine teeth in their upper jaw which are shaped like a sword. These teeth were up to 8 inches long (20 cm) and remained out of their mouth even when it was closed.
- They were found in the grasslands and woodlands of North and South America some 12 million years to 10,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch.
- They were among the prime predators just like the Lions and Tigers of today. They hunted other animals for their food mostly herbivores (animals that feed on plants) which included mainly camel and bison.
- They got extinct due to major changes in the earth’s climate that occurred 10,000 years ago at the end of the ice age.
- During the ice age, plants were scarce and caused the extinction of herbivores which were the primary source of food of Saber Tooth Tigers. This lack of food caused the Saber Tooth Tigers extinction.
Now you know What is a Saber Tooth Tiger. Now read the next article on Saber Tooth Tiger Facts for Kids.
