Smilodon Hunting

The prehistoric predator, Smilodon, was an apex predator in North and South America. The animal would have hunted large prey such as bison, camels, horses, ground sloths and mammoths. Isotopic studies of dire wolf and American lion bones show that there is an overlap in prey with the Smilodon; this suggests that they were competitors.


It is believed that Smilodon was an ambush predator, concealing itself in the vegetation. Then, using its massive body strength it would wrestle its prey to the ground.


Smilodon’s hunting has been compared to its closest relatives, the big cats that still roam Africa and Asia. Lions and tigers have smaller canines than Smilodon, a mere 3.5 inches compared to a massive 8 inches, but they are still able to bring down prey that is six times larger than itself. The lion would use its claws and teeth to pull itself up until they can get to the throat. They would then clamp down on the throat.


A lion’s bite force is relatively mild and so a lions choke hold rarely punctures the skin. Scientists have assumed that they are simply strangling their victims. However, Dr Frank Mendel believes that they squeeze vital arteries that feed the brain, causing the prey to pass out in 3 to 5 seconds. A lion would then apply a kind of sleeper hold on its prey which must be sustained for five minutes, depriving the brain of oxygen rendering it brain dead; the prey will therefore not fight back. This poses a problem for lions as the scent of a fresh kill will attract other predators, including crocodiles and hyenas.


The Smilodon bite force is even less than that of a lion and due to a greater number of scavengers and larger prey, a five minute choke hold seems unlikely. The fossil record has produced evidence that shows the massive 8 inch canines could have easily broken in a struggle or if they were to hit bone.


In an experiment, Mendel recreates the jaws and bite-force of a Smilodon and mounts it on an articulator. He then uses the carcass of a cow to demonstrate how the Smilodon could have used its canines.


The first theory is that Smilodon would have given a bite to the abdomen; there are no ribs here, only the abdominal wall so the canines wouldn’t be damaged. The gape of a Smilodon is approximately 110º, but this still only leaves 3 inches of clearance between the mandible and the tip of the canine. The mandible is able to gather a mouthful of skin but the canines do not make contact with the carcass. Therefore this is not a plausible hypothesis.


Mendel’s hypothesis is that the Smilodon would puncture the neck rather than the abdomen. The gape easily clears the neck. The canines also puncture the neck with ease, leaving big holes. To gain further evidence that the prey would be killed quickly, Mendel opened up the throat to examine the damage.

Several arteries were damaged, indicating that the animal would have been killed in seconds. This shows that Smilodon was able to kill its prey quicker than modern day big cats.

A pack of saber toothed cats attack a young Columbian Mammoth. Art by Mauricio Anton

This artist’s impression of a pack of Smilodon hunting a juvenile Columbian Mammoth is rather accurate. It shows the Smilodon in the foreground, pinning the calf to the ground and using its canines to puncture the throat. Other impressions show Smilodon biting the hide or limbs of its prey. This would not have occurred during a hunt as damage would have been sustained to the canines.


The belief that Smilodon was a social animal is further supported by the discovery of Smilodon fossils with healed injuries; this would suggest that individuals depended on others to provide food while it was injured. Also juvenile Smilodon had smaller canines which have led palaeontologists to believe that they would have been fed after a kill until they could participate in the hunt itself.