Saber-toothed Cats

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Digital Guide to La Brea Tar Pits

Explore La Brea Tar Pits and over 160 international museums, galleries, sculpture parks, gardens, and cultural spaces on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.

Smilodon, Saber-Tooths, and Tigers…Oh My!

How Smilodon became saber-toothed tigers—and why they're really saber-toothed cats

Extinction and Survival at La Brea Tar Pits

Groundbreaking new research from La Brea Tar Pits curators finds that in California, 13,000 years ago, huge Ice Age mammals that had roamed the landscape for many millennia, suddenly ceased to exist. The cause? Humans, catastrophic fires, and an ecosystem made vulnerable by climate change.

Life reconstruction of fire at La Brea Tar Pits during the Pleistocene as bison are stuck during a wildfire

Why Did the Ice Age Titans Go Extinct?

A new study reveals that human impacts in an environment made fire-prone by climate change and herbivore loss led to large mammals vanishing from southern California.

Playing With Fire: Extinction and Survival at La Brea Tar Pits

In California, 13,000 years ago, huge Ice Age mammals that had roamed the landscape for many millennia, suddenly ceased to exist. The cause? Humans, catastrophic fires, and an ecosystem made vulnerable by climate change.

Geek Out in an Ice Age Daydream

Tar AR brings Ice Age animals back to L.A.

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Offsite Resources

News & Press

New Study by Scientists at La Brea Tar Pits Finds Extinction of Ice Age Mammals in Southern California Linked to Climate Change, Humans, and Fire

Diverse Fossils From Iconic Site Tell Story of how Saber-Toothed Cats, Dire Wolves, and Other Megafauna That Once Roamed the Los Angeles Basin Disappeared

Three revamped cases display how the journey of fossils from the asphalt to the lab can lead to incredible new discoveries about our world

Burro-ing Into the Past

A new study reveals that introduced donkeys and indigenous pumas are helping to resurrect extinct food webs in Death Valley.

A new study reveals saber-toothed cats suffered from hip dysplasia, an affliction common in pet cats and dogs, and points to supportive social structures for Smilodon.