Smilodon (encyclopedia)

Tigers are usually the top animal predators in their territories, and have been known to kill bears, crocodiles, giant snakes, wolves, and even other great cats. Even humanoids are far from safe, especially in cases where a tiger has developed a taste for humanoid flesh. Tigers prefer terrain with plenty of cover and proximity to water as their hunting grounds.

While the tiger itself is a fearsome predator, its strength and ferocity pales in comparison to that of the larger dire tiger. Known to many scholars as the smilodon and to tribal societies as the saber-toothed tiger, the dire tiger is invariably one of the region’s top predators. Its defining feature is a pair of huge incisors that hang down like fearsome knives from the upper jaw, protruding menacingly even when the creature’s mouth is shut.

These immense hunting cats grow to be over 12 feet long and can weigh up to 6,000 pounds.

When prey is spotted, the smilodon waits for it to come close, and then leaps to attack. When combating a foe, the saber-tooth bites and rakes with its claws. It uses its long canine teeth to stab its prey, aiming for the fleshier and softer parts of its victim’s body (such as the stomach or neck) where it inflicts terrible wounds with its saber-like teeth.