The World of The Sabertooth
March 3rd, 2013
Jonathan and Mauricio Anton combine their extensive knowledge and artistry to bring the Sabertooths back to life through their first hand experience of modern day big cats.
7 comments on “The World of The Sabertooth”
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Increased competition from man probably, seen as a threat to the dwindling supply of wooly mammoths, mostly likely. Conjecture on my part but I wouldn’t bet against it.
Sounds like, from the video, that the ones who survived evolved into the Big Cats of today.
Who’s habitat is constantly being invaded and reduced in size.
Nice video, will we see a full length exposition in the near future?
Saw a new National Geographic expose” on the illegal ivory trade in Africa on PBS last week.
According to tthe report, China’s demand for ivory is directly behind the decimation of elephants in some countires in Africa.
By gangs of poachers, with the help of certain government officals, ivory is being illegally shipped to China by the Chinese government on diplomatic planes.
Some governments have agressive anti-poaching policies where poaching is not as rampant, but there are some that turn a blind eye to poaching, them reap the financial benefits.
Those nice roads you talked about the Chinese building in Kenya, Jonathan, will come at a high price. Unless Kenya continues to beef up their anti-poaching defenses, we will see more killings in the future.
On a side note, Animal Planet will be debuting a new show this month called Rhino Wars, set in South Africa. Do not have any financial interest whatsoever, but I do have a humanitarian interest in saving Big Cats, elephants, hippos and other wildlife from slaughter.
Dom
Answering my own question, look forward to seeing the results of your effortst in 2014.
What a fascinating clip, I agree with Dominick and can’t wait to see the results in 2014
Yeah, 2014 is going to be “Sabertooth year”!! It is so exciting to have this opportunity to bring Jonathan’s expertise and first hand observations into the story of big cat evolution! This project is different from anything done before, and a lot of fun!!
About sabertooth extinctions, yes competition with humans is very likely to have been one of the causes, but we should bear in mind that sabertooths have evolved several tines independently over the last 60 million years, so there have been several sabertooth extinction episodes, and some of them happened long before humans evolved. When environments are stable and resources are predictable, many kinds of predators can coexist. But climatic changes sometimes bring about big crises, and then, conflicts between species escalate into total war. And then, human impact on the environment can contribute to, or create comparable crises…
Hi Mauricio, Jonathan, Angie and everyone,
I appreciate your observations and am jazzed about the “Sabertooth” project.
If I’m not mistaken, the Wooly Mammoth was basically hunted to extinction by mostly man and other large predators.
So humans didn’t appreciate the Sabertooth trying to get a “Piece of the Action”.
take care
Dom
What a great video and I too would like to see more.
Dom, I saw the ads for the show Rhino Wars on Animal Planet too and thought (wished) why can’t they expand it to include big cats , elephants and other wildlife. I hope it has some impact.
Anyway, loved the video and enjoyed watching Jonathan talking about big cats again!
Take care,
Sue
Hi everyone
Sue,
I believe Animal Planet’s, “Battleground:Rhino Wars” starts this Thurs night, Mar 7, if I’m not mistaken, must check listings.
BCD/Week is still one of their best all time programs, even in reruns.
Unfortunately, in some areas of Africa, where gangs of poachers are operating, some type of militancy is needed. To meet force with force to protect the elephants and rhinos.
Will reserve judgement on the program until I have a chance to see it, but its premise is laudable and most probably needed.
take care
Dom