There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
In paleontology, there is debate as to whether some prehistoric big cats were social or not. These would include the Pleistocene lion-like cats Panthera Atrox and Panthera Spalea, Smilodon, and Smilodon. Of all cats, I believe there is one genus that was undoubtedly social. That cat would be Homotherium. But why would they be social? where is the proof? well then, lets take a look at the situation shall we?
For the first question, why would these cats be social? Most cats are solitary, although the puma has shown to be more social than previously thought. The only cat we can look to for a reference is the lion. One advantage to living in a group for cats of their size is that it helps defend kills and cubs against other predators on the plains, in the lions case, Spotted Hyenas. In the Early Pleistocene, Homotherium did coexist with the massive hyena, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, which was larger than a modern spotted hyena, which the size was probably linked to aggressive scavenging habits (Anton). As in the case for Homotherium Serum in North America, it coexisted with Panthera Atrox, a huge lion-like cat that weighed more than 700 pounds, was more powerful, and was better armed for battle, so one on one, a Homotherium would have been helpless against this big cat, so by definition, a P. atrox could have killed one scimitar, and a small group could have chased off or killed an equal sized group of scimitars, but not a large group, and it seems likely that P. atrox wasn't in huge groups like the African Lion. Another enemy was Arctodus, the Giant Short-Faced Bear, this animal was a beast, weighing in at more than a ton, one swipe would have ended a scimitars life. But in a big enough group, perhaps the cats could have held their own against this behemoth. Another advantage comes to hunting, studies done in Etosha National Park in Namibia have shown that lion prides can overcome the problem of being detected by prey in places with not very much cover by coordinating their activities, Homotherium, likely would have been the same. I will quote another advantage to group living from the book "Sabertooth" by Mauricio Anton.
"Zoologists have long wondered why only modern lions among all the big cats are social, and the most convincing hypothesis to date suggests that the numerical advantage provided by a pride structure when competing with conspecifics for the highest quality territory is the key reason why lions group together. According to this hypothesis, the heterogeneity of savannah habitat would be an important cause of pride formation, because territory quality depends on proximity to river confluences, which serve as funnels that force prey into a small area and also hold persistent waterholes and dense advantages over prides that are forced to the periphery and need to made do with poorer- quality real estate." Mauricio Anton
So those are the advantages to group living for big cats, and we know that they liked grasslands, the kind of habitat where these advantages take place.
As for question 2, where's the evidence? At Friesenhahn cave in Texas, several specimens of Homotherium Serum have been found, including cubs, showing that was a family group, not only that, they were found in association with the fossils of mammoths, and hunting mammoths including those of the age class these were in would have required cooperation to distract the mothers attention from her calf. Homotherium actually wasn't as strong as a modern lion or tiger, and except for the huge dewclaw, the claws weren't as retractable as other cats, and were worn down due to being used for traction. So using teamwork would have helped add some firepower in hunting big game.
