Smilodon was a large prehistoric cat famous for its enormous fangs, which could grow up to seven inches long. These dramatic teeth gave it the nickname “saber-toothed tiger,” though it wasn't actually a tiger at all, but a separate type of cat that went extinct around 10,000 years ago.

Imagine a cat the size of a modern lion, but stockier and more muscular, with those incredible curved fangs jutting down from its upper jaw like two daggers. Scientists believe Smilodon used these teeth to hunt large prey like bison and young mammoths. The teeth were actually somewhat fragile despite their size, so Smilodon probably targeted the soft throat or belly of its prey rather than biting into bone.

Smilodon lived across North and South America during the Ice Age. We know so much about it because hundreds of its fossils have been discovered at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, where animals got trapped in sticky asphalt thousands of years ago. These fossils suggest that Smilodon may have lived in groups and cared for injured pack members, much like modern lions do.