There passed about 10 thousand years as legendary saber-toothed tigers died out, however interest in these surprising mammals does not die away. What they were where lived and why these ancient representatives of the cat family disappeared from the face of the earth.
Habitat
Saber-toothed tigers or as they are called still - makhayroda, appeared during era of a middle Miocene about 20 million years ago and quite long time lived on our Earth. These huge cats were main on the American continents. Researches also show that they lived not only in South and North America, but also in Africa and Eurasia.
Saber-toothed tiger – the born hunter
The main feature of this cat – the sharpest front canines reaching sometimes 20 cm in length. They resembled sabers superficially therefore these cats were called saber-toothed. However they had no striped skin, as at a tiger. Presumably, it was spotty.
Except the frightening canines, makhayrod had a powerful thorax, massive paws, a jaw which could reveal strongly, – all this speaks about it, as about the dangerous hunter. However scientists, having compared it to a modern lion, came to a conclusion that force of a sting of a saber-toothed tiger considerably concedes to force of a sting of a modern lion. And canines have some restrictions in use: they are quite fragile if to send them to the parties, most effectively to work with them up and down. Proceeding from it, it turns out that not everywhere conveniently and effectively to use canines. Most likely, the saber-toothed tiger cut with them large blood vessels of a neck, as led to death of the victim. Ate makhayrod generally antelopes, horses and bisons. Besides, researches showed that some representatives of this look hunted enough large animals, such as mammoth and idler. Presence of a short tail at a saber-toothed tiger says that it not from those who quickly run. Therefore scientists assume that sluggish animals of the large sizes became the victims.
Possible reasons of disappearance
Time went, on the earth it became warmer also to the land. America was not the big wood any more as before. Mammoths and idlers began to die out. Food for saber-toothed tigers became less that, according to some scientists, began to lead to reduction of their number. Being excellent large animals, makhayroda hunters could not adapt to hunting for small animals. Perhaps, it became the reason of their extinction. Today the smoky leopard is considered the closest relative of a makhayrod. It has very long canines which can be applied as weapon of exact defeat too.