Feature Paleontology

Saber-toothed cats were fierce and family-oriented

A freshly detailed picture shows Smilodon helping the injured and the young

Smilodon hunting

THE BADDEST CAT  On countless occasions over thousands of years, predator and prey alike — such as saber-toothed cats and giant ground sloths — became mired in the tar at what is now Rancho La Brea in southern California, leaving loads of fossils for researchers to study.

Sergio de la Rosa

By John Pickrell

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