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.
11-11-2018, 09:29 AM( This post was last modified: 11-11-2018, 09:31 AM by Wolverine )
For sure it wasn't a long distance runner because the cat physiology doesn't allow this. Cats have relatively smaller hearts comparing to their body mass in comparison with canids that's why they get tired easily. They are sprinters not long distance runners. Even in fight with other predator for example tiger-bear the feline has to kill the enemy in first several minutes, if it loose the momentum it has no more chances against the bear who gets tired much harder. Wolves and bears need much more time to get excausted than the big cats.
So, smilodon populator obviously was not chasing the prey on long distances and in same time being bad jumper and not as fast as lions and tigers was most probably hunting large slow herbivores. Probably the largest herbivores hunt by any felid ever. His enourmous physical power allowed him to tackle such a big prey along with unique method of killing based probably on "poking", not on "biting" the prey, distinct from the techniques of killing of the modern big cats.