Cave Lion is an ancient predator

Thousands of years ago, the planet Earth was inhabited by various animals, which then died out for various reasons. Now these animals are often called fossils. Their remains in the form of preserved bones of the skeleton and skulls are found during archaeological excavations. Then the scientists painstakingly gather all the bones together and try to restore the appearance of the animal in this way. In this they are helped by rock paintings, and even primitive sculptures left by ancient people who lived at the same time. Today, computer scientists have come to the aid of scientists, allowing to recreate the image of a fossil animal. Cave Lion - one of the types of ancient creatures, horrified by smaller counterparts. Even primitive people tried to avoid the place of his dwelling.

Fossil predator cave lion

It was in this way that the most ancient species of fossil predator was discovered and described, which scientists called the cave lion. The remains of the bones of this animal were found in Asia, Europe and North America. This allows us to conclude that the cave lion lived in a vast territory, from Alaska to the British Isles. The name that received this species was justified, because it was in the caves that most of its bone remains were found. But only wounded and dying animals went to the caves. They preferred to live and hunt in open spaces.

History of the discovery

The first detailed description of the cave lion was made by the Russian zoologist and paleontologist Nikolai Kuzmich Vereshchagin. In his book, he spoke in detail about the ancestral belonging of this animal, the geography of its distribution, habitats, features of nutrition, reproduction and other details. This book, entitled "The Cave Lion and its history in the Holarctic and within the USSR," is written on the basis of many years of painstaking research and is still the best scientific work on the study of this fossil animal. Scientists call the halo-Arctic much of the northern hemisphere.

Description of the animal

The cave lion was a very large predator, weighing up to 350 kilograms, a height at the withers of 120-150 centimeters and a body length of up to 2.5 meters, excluding the tail. Powerful legs were relatively long, which made the predator tall animals. His wool was smooth and short, color - uniform, monochrome, sandy - gray color that helped him to disguise during hunting. In winter, the fur coat was more lush and saved from the cold. There were no manes near the cave lions, as evidenced by rock carvings of primitive people. But a brush on the tail is present in many drawings. The ancient predator infused horror and panic into our distant ancestors.

The head of the cave lion was relatively large, with powerful jaws. The dental system of fossil predators externally looks the same as that of modern lions, but teeth are still more massive. Two canines on the upper jaw strike with their appearance: the length of each canine of the animal was 11-11.5 centimeters. The structure of the jaws and the dental system clearly proves that the cave lion was a predator and could cope with very large animals.

Habitat and hunting

In rock paintings, it is often depicted how a group of cave lions chases one victim. This suggests that predators lived in pride and practiced collective hunting. Analysis of the remains of animal bones found in cave lion habitat shows that they attacked deer, moose, bison, tours, yaks, musk oxen and other animals that were encountered in this particular locality. Their prey could be young mammoths, camels, rhinoceroses, hippos and cave bears. Do not exclude the possibility of scientists attacking predators and adult mammoths, but only under favorable conditions for this. Especially for primitive people the cave lion did not hunt. A person could become a victim of a predator when the beast visited the shelter where people lived. Usually only sick or old specimens were taken to the caves. Alone, a man could not cope with a predator, but collective defense using fire could save people or some part of them. These extinct lions were strong, but this did not save them from imminent death.

Possible causes of extinction

Mass death and extinction of cave lions occurred at the end of the period, which scientists call the late Pleistocene. This period ended approximately 10 thousand years ago. Even before the end of the Pleistocene, mammoths and other animals, now called fossils, have completely died out. Causes of extinction of cave lions are:

• climate change;
• Transformation of the landscape;
• Activity of the primitive man.

Climatic and landscape changes have disrupted the habitual habitat of the lions themselves and the animals they fed. The food chains were torn , which led to the mass extinction of herbivores, who lost the necessary food, and predators also began to die out after them.

Man as a cause of the mass death of fossil animals for a long time was not considered at all. But many scientists pay attention to the fact that primitive people have constantly evolved and improved. There were new types of weapons, hunting, hunting methods were improving. The man himself began to eat herbivores and learned to resist predators. This could lead to the extermination of fossil animals, including the cave lion. Now you know which animals have died out as the human civilization develops.

Given the destructive influence of man on nature, the version about the involvement of primitive people in the disappearance of cave lions, today does not seem fantastic.