Sabre-tooth tiger was a party animal

© Mauricio Antón

Scientists led by ZSL and University of California have used an innovative methodology comparing numbers of present-day carnivores competing for kills in Africa with those of mainly extinct species found in a North American fossil record to conclude that this saber-tooth was social.

Dr Chris Carbone, ZSL Senior Research Fellow and lead author of the paper, said, 'The extinct sabretoothed cat, Smilodon fatalis, has been something of an enigma, with almost nothing known of its behaviour. This research allowed us to use the behaviour of its present-day relatives to conclude that this extinct cat was more likely to roam in formidable gangs, than as a secretive solitary animal.'

The sabretoothed cat was a large carnivore that lived approximately 1.6million to 10,000 years ago in North and South America. The species is famous for its extremely long canine teeth, which reached up to seven inches in length and extended below the lower jaw of the cat.

The fossils of numerous individuals have been found in the tar seeps of California, North America, in which they were trapped after being attracted to the calls of trapped dying herbivores.

The researchers used a comparison between the fossil record and data obtained from 'playbacks' used in Africa where the calls of a distressed prey and sounds of lions and hyenas are used to attract carnivores. This technique has been used by scientists to estimate carnivore densities in eastern and southern Africa.

The results showed that the large social species made up a far larger proportion of the individuals attracted than one would expect considering its population size compared to other carnivores.

'Social groups are generally more successful when it comes to scavenging,' Dr Carbone added, 'hence, the increased proportion of social species compared to other carnivores, both in the modern day playbacks and in the historical tar seep records.

'Overall, therefore, patterns show that scavenging, an important feeding behaviour, is linked with sociality. A variety of species, including both the sabretoothed cat and early humans, have been dependent on scavenging as a food source and are likely to have evolved more complicated social organisation in order to optimise their caloric intake.'

The research was published in The Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters and also involved scientists from the University of California, Tshwane University of Technology and University of Pretoria.