Sabretooth "tigers" were social animals who lived and hunted in prides, a study suggests.

The abundance of S.fatalis fossils in Californian tar seeps suggests they were packs of scavengers, lured in by the distress calls of trapped prey.

Research in Africa found that audio playbacks of prey sounds attract social carnivores, but not solitary hunters.

This suggests S.fatalis was social too, claims the Royal Society journal study.

Jaw dropping

The so-called sabretooth tiger - Smilodon fatalis - is famous for its extremely long canine teeth, which reached up to seven inches and extended below the lower jaw.

This extinct cat was more likely to roam in formidable gangs, than as a secretive solitary animal.
Dr Chris Carbone

But although commonly called "tigers", due to their size, the species is actually part of a different subfamily, and they lived very differently.

While sabretoothed "tigers" were powerful predators, they were social beasts, rather than skulking loners, according to Dr Chris Carbone, a research fellow of the Zoological Society of London.


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