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35,000 year-old saber-toothed kitten with preserved whiskers pulled from
permafrost in Siberia
https://i.redd.it/akfi2zbf781e1.jpeg
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|u/suchascenicworld - 1 day
|
|Just so everyone is aware, the top image is the cub of the sabertooth
|belonging to the genus Homotherium while the bottom image is a lion cub.
|This find is also a big deal because with the exception of one other
|fossil, this is one of the only examples of Homotherium dating to 35-37k
|in this part of the world. In Eurasia, we thought they went extinct
|200-300k which is later than their extinction in Africa (1.5 mya) and
|much earlier than their extinction in North America, which only occurred
|at the end of the last ice age around 12k.   The whole article can be
|found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1  Edit: I
|originally said the bottom was a cave lion cub but as it turns out, its
|a modern lion cub! Thanks for pointing it out!


  |u/Proof-Highway1075 - 1 day
  |
  |I’m pretty sure it’s just a regular modern lion cub. They call it
  |Panthera leo and refer to it throughout as a lion cub, I couldn’t find
  |anywhere it said cave lion. The name if it was a cave lion cub would
  |be Panthera spelaea or Panthera fossilis. Other possibilities are P.
  |leo spelaea or P. leo fossilis. Happy to be corrected, but from what I
  |could see in that article it is just a modern 3 week old lion cub.


    |u/suchascenicworld - 1 day
    |
    |ooh you are right, my bad. I will edit my comment now!


    |u/CrownDaisy - 23 hours
    |
    |Interesting that it survived in such cold conditions.


      |u/Medioh_ - 23 hours
      |
      |Hate to break it to you but it's been dead for a long time


      |u/SheepH3rder69 - 21 hours
      |
      |They're Ice Age mega fauna. That's the kind of environment they
      |were built for.


  |u/amontpetit - 23 hours
  |
  |>In Eurasia, we thought they went extinct 200-300k which is later than
  |their extinction in Africa (1.5 mya) and much earlier than their
  |extinction in North America, which only occurred at the end of the
  |last ice age around 12k.  The implication being a strong case for the
  |theory around migration to NA via an ice bridge?


    |u/mikeprevette - 21 hours
    |
    |Less conflict with other large carnivore. Ice bridge < land bridge
    |given the lower sea level


      |u/WestDry6268 - 19 hours
      |
      |Less conflict with human beings*


        |u/Seralyn - 17 hours
        |
        |30k years ago, I suspect the level of conflict with human beings
        |would have been extremely minimal due to the super low
        |population density of humans at the time for one thing. For
        |another, they would not have been hunting them for food when
        |there is significantly higher yield animals that are far less
        |dangerous. But maybe I'm wrong, so why do you think that humans
        |would have been a problem for them?


          |u/syp2207 - 17 hours
          |
          |because hating urself is an easy way to get upvotes in any
          |animal-related thread


    |u/roygbivasaur - 20 hours
    |
    |That ice and/or land bridge really did reshape the ecosystem.   - 3
    |million years ago, camels were introduced to Eurasia from the
    |Americas and then went extinct in the Americas.  - 70k years ago,
    |wolves were introduced to the Americas  - Humans introduced to the
    |Americas 12k years ago  - Horses went back and forth many times for
    |about 100k years and intermixed then were wiped out by humans or
    |naturally went extinct. We are pretty sure humans had some dealings
    |with horses after the ice age where humans crossed but they were
    |extinct long before Europeans showed up. We don’t quite know how
    |long they had been extinct in the Americas by that point.   And now
    |also sabertooths might have done the horse thing. Neat.


      |u/Seralyn - 17 hours
      |
      |Humans were not introduced at all, though I suspect you just mean
      |"arrived"? However, they were present in the Americas much longer
      |than 12k years ago. Off the top of my head I know of a settlement
      |around 15k years old (Monte Verde II)at the very southern end of
      |S. America. And as for N. America human footprints that are
      |between 23k years are well documented in the desert somewhere in
      |the southwest...White Sands, I think?


        |u/roygbivasaur - 13 hours
        |
        |As far as I understand (not an expert at all), earlier events
        |are disputed and currently exciting and controversial for
        |anthropologists and archaeologists. I was mostly talking about
        |the event we think the majority of indigenous Americans descend
        |from.  ETA: Oh, I see. You’re right that “arrived” is a better
        |word for it.


      |u/Jibber_Fight - 16 hours
      |
      |The horses thing is most fascinating to me. They weren’t
      |indigenous at any point through natural evolution in North
      |America.  But through a bunch of human migratory events and
      |decades of bringing them over here…I think the Spanish mostly, it
      |created this whole culture of native Americans horse way of life.
      |For hundreds of years it was natives with horses and dogs. But the
      |hunting of buffalo and teepees and nomadic way of life was only
      |because people brought horses over here. It’s kind of wild to
      |think about.


        |u/roygbivasaur - 12 hours
        |
        |I’m not an expert, but it’s complicated. Horses did descend from
        |Dinohippus/Plesippus which was endemic to North America and
        |crossed into Eurasia about 2.5 million years ago then went
        |extinct in North America. Then various populations of different
        |species made their way back to North America, diverged again,
        |diverged some more in South America, and went extinct. Then
        |modern (pre-domestication) horses came back to North America a
        |few times and went extinct again in North America around 12k
        |years ago. Either because the vegetation died in the same ice
        |age that a lot of humans came or because they were hunted by
        |said humans.   Was fascinated with this a few years ago and love
        |to bring it up. I got all that from this Wikipedia article to
        |make sure I didn’t say anything dumb or misremember though:
        |https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_horse


  |u/elquecazahechado - 20 hours
  |
  |Top: Diego. Bottom: Simba.


  |u/Thisisredred - 1 day
  |
  |Thank you, kind stranger,  for filling us in!


    |u/suchascenicworld - 1 day
    |
    |no problem !


  |u/TootsTootler - 23 hours
  |
  |It’s interesting that they couldn’t find a color photograph of a lion
  |cub, the one species of the two that’s still extant.


  |u/LonelyFPL - 23 hours
  |
  |Thanks you the explanation. 


  |u/thestsgarm - 23 hours
  |
  |Thank you for the extra details. So fascinating.


  |u/InternetArchiveMem - 19 hours
  |
  |Thanks for the article l!!!


    |u/suchascenicworld - 17 hours
    |
    |of course ! the more folks interested in science and scientific
    |literature (and having access to it!) the better !


  |u/carloselcoco - 22 hours
  |
  |To be more specific, second one is a Panthera leo.


|u/ParryHotter3000 - 1 day
|
|The cat distribution system was 35000 years too late 😫


  |u/TheRappingSquid - 13 hours
  |
  |:(


|u/fromwhichofthisoak - 1 day
|
|Bring them back


  |u/PedroEglasias - 1 day
  |
  |Tigers need some competition, had it too good, for too long


    |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 1 day
    |
    |They weren’t in the same area as “real” tigers and there aren’t any
    |mammals today for saber tooth tigers to hunt, which is kinda why
    |they went extinct.   Saber tooth tigers aren’t actually tigers
    |either.


      |u/plibtyplibt - 1 day
      |
      |Shush you with your books and learning’ bring back the sword
      |tigers!


        |u/runtheplacered - 22 hours
        |
        |Next he's going to tell me I couldn't ride one into battle.


          |u/plibtyplibt - 20 hours
          |
          |Pssh the audacity of some people


        |u/NuvyHotnogger - 11 hours
        |
        |This is actually a common mistake. The objects in the
        |sabertooths mouth aren't actually sabers or "swords" but in fact
        |structures made up of enamel, dentin, cementum and pulp that is
        |grown from and connected to the animals own body. While a lot of
        |places still have special requirements if you are to bring an
        |animal around, you would in fact not be breaking any weapon laws
        |by open carrying your emotional support sabertooth.


          |u/plibtyplibt - 6 hours
          |
          |Sign me up, I’ll name him bubbles


      |u/William_Dowling - 1 day
      |
      |Pretty sure a sabre tooth wouldn't turn it's nose up to a cow.


        |u/FrostyWarning - 1 day
        |
        |A5 wagyu


        |u/eat-pussy69 - 1 day
        |
        |Oh it definitely would. And then immediately chomp down


        |u/respondstolongpauses - 23 hours
        |
        |was thinking white-tailed deer


      |u/CeaRhan - 1 day
      |
      |You're just a hater, bring them back


      |u/Funmachine - 1 day
      |
      |And they aren't called Sabre-tooth tigers. They're Sabre-tooth
      |cats.


        |u/AndromedeusEx - 1 day
        |
        |And they aren't called sabre-tooth cats either. They're called
        |rapier-fanged pussies.


          |u/FardoBaggins - 1 day
          |
          |And they aren't called rapier-fanged pussies either. They're
          |dagger-mouthed felines.


            |u/Bark7676 - 1 day
            |
            |And they aren't called dagger-mouthed felines. They are
            |called Stabby-toothed Meow-meows


              |u/ali_v_ - 23 hours
              |
              |Cousin of the pointy tooth Leporidae


              |u/cytoplasim - 1 day
              |
              |🤣🤣🤣


            |u/Separate_Clock_154 - 1 day
            |
            |And they aren’t called dagger-mouthed felines neither, they
            |are Scythe Jaw Panthers


          |u/Coldin228 - 1 day
          |
          |I'd like to see you call them that that to their face


          |u/sicsche - 1 day
          |
          |Oh I see, you also know my Ex GF.


          |u/whut-whut - 1 day
          |
          |Unzip...


        |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 1 day
        |
        |They aren’t.   “Smilodon is an extinct genus of felids. It is
        |one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric
        |mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it
        |was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats,
        |belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, with an
        |estimated date of divergence from the ancestor of living cats
        |around 20 million years ago.”  The cloud leopard is the closest
        |related big cat, but a “big cat” is a tiger.


          |u/FirstDagger - 1 day
          |
          |Machairodontinae the sub family of both *Smilodon* and
          |*Homotherium* belong to are called colloquially as saber-
          |toothed cats. Tigers, house cats, *Smilodon* and *Homotherium*
          |all belong to Felidae ... which literally comprises all cats.


            |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 1 day
            |
            |I’m replying to “they aren’t called saber toothed tigers”.
            |I’m well aware they’re a cat, but so are tigers.


              |u/Crazytrixstaful - 23 hours
              |
              |The way you’re arguing they could also be called saber
              |toothed lions ,or saber tooth jaguars ,or saber toothed
              |cougars. Square might be a rectangle but a rectangle is
              |not a square. 


                |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 22 hours
                |
                |I’m not arguing. I’m just saying it’s not wrong to call
                |them X when XYZ is correct.


                  |u/Crazytrixstaful - 22 hours
                  |
                  |Well no, you very much can be wrong saying that it’s a
                  |tiger if it’s not technically classified as one. It
                  |can be in the big cat family and not be a tiger. It
                  |can be its own classification, as in “Saber Toothed
                  |Cat.”   It is in the big cat family felidae but part
                  |of a now extinct branch. And they are seen more
                  |similar to lions than tigers by body type and
                  |potential pack living.


          |u/Seralyn - 17 hours
          |
          |Wait, I was with you until the last phrase. Tigers are big
          |cats, but  not all big cats are tigers. Or do you mean
          |something different than what I thought?


          |u/Funmachine - 1 day
          |
          |You just... Copied the first paragraph from Wikipedia as a
          |reply? A reply that doesn't contradict what I said in the
          |slightest?  They are Sabre-tooth cats. As there are other
          |Sabre-tooth predators, but these are the only feline ones. But
          |they aren't Tigers, as Tigers are a separate genus. Smilodon
          |are Sabre-tooth cats, not Sabre-tooth tigers, because Sabre-
          |tooth tigers aren't a thing.


            |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 1 day
            |
            |Ok here. It’s not wrong to call them a saber toothed tiger.
            |What is wrong with you guys?
            |https://www.britannica.com/animal/saber-toothed-cat


              |u/reefine - 23 hours
              |
              |CALL IT A TIGER ONE MORE TIME AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS


              |u/Admirable_Count989 - 23 hours
              |
              |saber-toothed cat, sabre-toothed tiger (source:
              |Britannica.com)  The hell is up with 2 different ways to
              |spell s a b r e ?!


                |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 23 hours
                |
                |European vs American.


            |u/FirstDagger - 1 day
            |
            |*Smilodon* is both a sabre-toothed tiger and a sabre-toothed
            |cat because it has be colloquially called sabre-toothed
            |tiger and is part of Machairodontinae. That colliqual name
            |doesn't imply a cladistic relationship but describes its
            |appearance. The scientific name *Smilodon* does nothing
            |else, meaning toothy smile.


              |u/stevil30 - 23 hours
              |
              |i love your knowledge dropping fyi. now i get the odon
              |part of smilodon


                |u/FirstDagger - 22 hours
                |
                |Now try that knowledge with the species part of *Otodus
                |megalodon*


            |u/EdenBlade47 - 23 hours
            |
            |"And they aren't called Sabre-tooth tigers"  >Although
            |commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not
            |closely related to the tiger or other modern cats  "that
            |doesn't contradict what I said in the slightest?"  Sure it
            |does. Literally says they're called saber-tooth tigers.
            |Believe it or not, the same word can mean different things
            |in different contexts. For instance, the [maned
            |wolf](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maned_wolf) is not
            |actually a wolf despite its name- but it's still called the
            |maned wolf.   Also, tigers are not a genus, genius, they're
            |a species. The genus they belong to is Panthera, which also
            |includes lions, leopards, and jaguars.   What a strange hill
            |to die on.


              |u/Half-PintHeroics - 23 hours
              |
              |I wonder how they feel about sea lions


                |u/chiono_graphis - 22 hours
                |
                |And starfish


                  |u/Half-PintHeroics - 22 hours
                  |
                  |I originally wanted to say "shield toad" instead of
                  |sea lion but unfortunately you don't call turtles that
                  |in English :(


              |u/Algaroth - 23 hours
              |
              |OH SNAP! Cat fight!


        |u/PreparationHot980 - 1 day
        |
        |Hero! So many people make fun of me for calling them Sabre-tooth
        |cats


      |u/Ccracked - 1 day
      |
      |I'm sure some decently-sized mammals, in a well-sized ward, could
      |provide good hunting.


      |u/MyHamburgerLovesMe - 1 day
      |
      |Essentially when their large, slow prey started dying off at the
      |end of the ice age the saber tooth was too slow to catch smaller,
      |more nimble prey (they were short legged ambush predators).  They
      |were unable to compete with humans and wolves for the same prey.
      |https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/everything-to-know-
      |about-saber-toothed-cats-and-their-extinction


      |u/HeyManItsToMeeBong - 1 day
      |
      |Looks like Lil Johnny Cat Facts showed up


      |u/sdrawkcabstiho - 23 hours
      |
      |> and there aren’t any mammals today for saber tooth tigers to
      |hunt...  Have you looked in a mirror lately....mammal?


      |u/SojournerWeaver - 22 hours
      |
      |I can think of one mammal that needs a predator.


        |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 21 hours
        |
        |If you’re saying humans then the tigers of Asia still out
        |compete.


      |u/Technical-Tailor-411 - 19 hours
      |
      |Bring back the mammoths, the sloths, and all those animals too.


      |u/Mikeieagraphicdude - 1 day
      |
      |Didn’t they prey on Homo sapiens. I don’t really see a food
      |shortage.


      |u/Farting_Champion - 21 hours
      |
      |I downvoted this but that wasn't enough. You need to know that
      |you're a nerd. Let people dream.


        |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 21 hours
        |
        |I have a DO and don’t like false information. You’re welcome.


          |u/Farting_Champion - 18 hours
          |
          |Did you also write a scathing letter to correct the people who
          |wrote and produced The Land Before Time because dinosaurs
          |can't actually talk and because Little Foot and Spike would
          |have lived in the late Jurassic period while Ducky and the
          |rest would have lived in the late Cretaceous period?


            |u/JollyGreenGiraffe - 17 hours
            |
            |Considering I wasn’t writing yet, no.   My older brother did
            |make little foot into his personal bang toy by making a hole
            |in it though.


      |u/YaBoii____ - 19 hours
      |
      |what type of prey did they hunt?


      |u/Seralyn - 17 hours
      |
      |Why do you say there are no mammals today for smilodons to hunt?
      |Ever heard of an elephant or a buffalo? That would be right up
      |their alley


      |u/KittenHippie - 2 hours
      |
      |Wasnt it because of competition with H. Sapiens? Thats what i read
      |but it may be outdated.


    |u/Used_Statistician138 - 1 day
    |
    |Tiger have only recently been pulled back from near extinction this
    |is the first time in decades that tiger populations are somewhat
    |stable they definitely have not had it easy


    |u/Smirnaff - 1 day
    |
    |Man, they are literally on the brink of extinction, those northern
    |ones


    |u/Mr-X89 - 1 day
    |
    |Have you heard of those things called "hu-mans"?


      |u/PedroEglasias - 1 day
      |
      |They need some more competition too, bring back T-Rex while we're
      |at it


    |u/Devinroni - 1 day
    |
    |Naw it's just want to pet them.


  |u/big_duo3674 - 1 day
  |
  |I'm surprised someone hasn't already tried crossing it with a maine
  |coon to make the world's first guard kitty


    |u/Slkkk92 - 1 day
    |
    |Kitties are already guard kitties.  We don't train them to fight
    |humans 'cause they'd get their shit rocked. Kitties protect against
    |frogs and shit.


      |u/angrydeuce - 23 hours
      |
      |Whenever Id get a moth or fly in the house I would just pick up my
      |cat and hold her up to it to eat it.  Like a biological fly
      |swatter, it was great.


        |u/TheIrishGoat - 17 hours
        |
        |I tried this with my last cat after watching him stare at a moth
        |on the wall for a few minutes. Held him up like Simba in the
        |lion king and chased after it for a solid 10 minutes while he
        |kept missing his swings. Finally got the moth then took a nap on
        |my legs. 10/10 would recommend.


  |u/slackermannn - 1 day
  |
  |They're so cute


  |u/Uptowner26 - 23 hours
  |
  |Welcome to Ice Age Park! “You can’t play god John.”


  |u/zmbjebus - 1 day
  |
  |Gotta bring back mammoths and gomphotheres and giant sloths and wooly
  |rhinos and bison and stuff first.  I legitimately support this. One
  |day some of that might be the case.   Can we all eat less meat and
  |vote in some rewilding efforts so the corn belt can turn into some
  |great plains again?  I want to believe...
  |https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene_Park  https://colossal.com/


    |u/redheadartgirl - 22 hours
    |
    |Bringing back ice age megafauna to try to survive in runaway climate
    |change seems cruel.


      |u/zmbjebus - 18 hours
      |
      |I feel like bringing back the mammoth steppe seems reasonable. I
      |don't think climate will erase that cold area completely. And it
      |is a better habitat at preserving as sequestering carbon (and
      |permafrost) than the tundra is. 


  |u/70ms - 1 day
  |
  |Have you seen how many they’ve pulled from the La Brea Tar Pits? It’s
  |something like 2,000 so far. Please don’t bring them back, traffic on
  |Wilshire Boulevard is bad enough already without feral sabertooths
  |running about. 🤪


    |u/Kizik - 1 day
    |
    |Sounds like they'd resolve the problem nicely.  Awful lot fewer
    |people on the road if they're risking danger kitties.


      |u/70ms - 1 day
      |
      |Fewer influencers for sure, they’d be stupid around them and get
      |eaten. So on second thought.. 🤪  (In all seriousnes, I grew up in
      |L.A. so I love ice age megafauna, enough that I’ve done a few
      |drawings from photos I took at the tar pits museum. Here’s one of
      |the two Smilodons: https://imgur.com/gallery/BOTIR)


      |u/Palaponel - 23 hours
      |
      |IDK I mean India has more Tigers than anywhere else on the planet
      |and it hasn't stopped them from getting out and about


  |u/Hornyjohn34 - 1 day
  |
  |Actually, with this find, they probably can. They just need to find
  |out what their closest living relative is, and they can indeed bring
  |them back. They're doing it to mammoths, now. We'll likely have
  |mammoths by the late 2020s, early 2030s.


    |u/FirstDagger - 23 hours
    |
    |> They just need to find out what their closest living relative is
    |There isn't one close enough. Hence:  > Thus, for the first time in
    |the history of paleontological research, the external appearance of
    |an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been
    |studied directly.
    |[Source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1)
    |Mommoths (i.e. *Mammuthus*) are more closely related to Asian
    |elephants (i.e. *Elephas*) than *Homotherium* is to any surviving
    |Felidae, and thus those attempts are being made.


      |u/riskoooo - 23 hours
      |
      |Pshht I'm sure AI will splice something together


    |u/Palaponel - 23 hours
    |
    |I mean, timeline predictions haven't worked out that well so far for
    |Mammoth cloning.   However, my main question is really "is it
    |actually a mammoth?". Like firstly, how much actual Asian elephant
    |DNA is being used, and secondly how much can this actually tell us
    |about what real mammoths were doing? Like, if you raise a fox
    |alongside dogs can we really expect it to have particularly fox-like
    |behaviours?  For the record I'm in favour of reintroducing
    |"mammoths" if and when it becomes feasible.


      |u/Hornyjohn34 - 23 hours
      |
      |It'll be mammothy enough. From what I understand, the Asian
      |elephant is more like just the carrier, there's not a lot the
      |asian elephant's DNA being used/


    |u/xatrixx - 11 hours
    |
    |> They're doing it to mammoths, now. We'll likely have mammoths by
    |the late 2020s, early 2030s.  Nope, this is a scam. There are not
    |enough female elephants in fertile age on the entire planet to
    |perform what's necessary to do this. Far from it even.


      |u/Hornyjohn34 - 52 minutes
      |
      |I don't see what having enough female elephants has to do with
      |bringing back woolly mammoths. You do realize that, at a certain
      |point, the mammoths could start reproducing on their own, right?


        |u/xatrixx - 28 minutes
        |
        |Yes. However, it's about getting the **first one**, not about
        |getting them to reproduce.  The [breeding cycle of Asian elephan
        |ts](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21095080/#:%7E:text=Being%20
        |13%2D18%20weeks%20in,which%20lasts%206%2D12%20weeks) is just
        |profoundly incompatible with the experiments that would be
        |needed. We would be talking about thousands of miscarriages on
        |the path to getting viable offspring, there would be years
        |between each attempt for every reproductive elephant making
        |these potential offspring, and there wouldn't be enough
        |elephants in the whole world to make meaningful progress over
        |the course of centuries.


  |u/shaybabyx - 19 hours
  |
  |They would have no where to live. Humans have almost completely wiped
  |out all other large animals, especially carnivores. That’s the thing
  |with preserving dna or embryos of species that are going
  |extinct/recently extinct. There will never be space for them again, we
  |will never return their habitat to suitable conditions. The only way
  |that would ever happen is if people completely change the way they
  |live, no consumerism, no over exploitation, no habitat destruction. I
  |can’t see that ever happening. This is coming from someone that is in
  |uni for environmental sustainability. We are fucked and there is no
  |bringing anything back.


    |u/JTR_finn - 13 hours
    |
    |Why then have there been successful reintroductions of locally
    |extinct species? Otters were successfully reintroduced to British
    |Columbia. Storks, beavers, and more have been reintroduced to great
    |Britain. wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone. bison to Banff National
    |park. Some of these are sustained with human protection, some have
    |been naturally growing and spreading on their own for years now. In
    |many cases they've begun to help the ecosystems they occupy heal and
    |rebuild to what it was like when they were last there. They aren't
    |wholly dependent on the environment, the environment is also
    |dependent on them.  This is such a nihilistic view of the world and
    |isn't productive towards anything. Yes the world is in a bad spot
    |and likely will never be the same but there are still ways in which
    |we can mitigate our damages instead of throw our hands in the air
    |and give up


      |u/shaybabyx - 12 hours
      |
      |Those were local extinctions though as you mention, an animal that
      |has gone extinct across the entire globe would be difficult to
      |reintroduce. I mean obviously we would have to examine why they
      |went extinct, does habitat still remain for them, could we create
      |habitat, how recent was the extinction, etc. I don’t mean to be
      |nihilistic but I am obviously a bit, especially due to climate
      |change and political issues. I think that is one of the largest
      |factors influencing my opinion. I literally want to go into
      |conservation, I don’t think we should throw our hands up. I just
      |think we need to be realistic about how badly we have fucked up
      |the Earth. So many systems are on the brink of collapse due to
      |habitat loss, pollution, raising temperatures etc. How will we
      |reintroduce animals dependent on arctic sea ice once that all
      |disappears? Or animals dependent on coral reefs? I guess I was
      |more talking about cases like that versus local extinctions. I
      |totally believe in reintroduction of locally extinct species. I
      |just think a lot of the time people talk about stuff like it will
      |all work out, but right now we are on the verge of it not working
      |out.  Edit: just wanted to add I fully believe the only way we
      |will fix what we have done is to have societal beliefs change, but
      |currently societal beliefs are shifting in the total opposite
      |direction, especially in North America. I don’t know if I see
      |things getting better or changing in that regard. Companies
      |control the world through money (oil companies, nestle, etc.) and
      |they don’t care about the planet. Still, I will try and do what I
      |can. But I don’t want to have unrealistic hopes that we can
      |totally reverse what we have done.


|u/Graphic_Materialz - 1 day
|
|Ancient murder kitteh. Good kitteh.


  |u/ZilockeTheandil - 1 day
  |
  |I know I've found my next favorite pet!


    |u/ScandiSom - 23 hours
    |
    |Your last pet


  |u/wankerpedia - 22 hours
  |
  |I didn't really expect to be upvoteing dead kittens today. But here we
  |are.


    |u/Graphic_Materialz - 19 hours
    |
    |Is reddit. should have seen it comin’


  |u/CELTICPRED - 23 hours
  |
  |My caveman brain is scared rn   Me get club


    |u/Graphic_Materialz - 19 hours
    |
    |Club sandwich to feed to murder kitteh


      |u/CELTICPRED - 19 hours
      |
      |Feed him big club   Club go bonk


  |u/TheBlackDaemon - 1 day
  |
  |Tiny t-rex vibes! Such a fierce little fluff.


    |u/Graphic_Materialz - 19 hours
    |
    |We would all say awwww while it ate our feet


|u/thispartyrules - 1 day
|
|Rest easy kitter


  |u/shugo2000 - 1 day
  |
  |It has been, for like 35,000 years.


    |u/Prcrstntr - 1 day
    |
    |Time to wake up then, you overslept 


      |u/runtheplacered - 22 hours
      |
      |Wake up, Mr. Freeman


      |u/GreenTitanium - 22 hours
      |
      |"You've been asleep, cat. For almost 35 000 years."


|u/ycr007 - 1 day
|
|[Source](https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-
|species/35-000-year-old-saber-toothed-kitten-with-preserved-whiskers-
|pulled-from-permafrost-in-siberia)


  |u/not_a_library - 1 day
  |
  |The images aren't in this article, but I read another one that showed
  |that even the toe beans were preserved. Little frozen beans!


    |u/GogglesPisano - 22 hours
    |
    |[Here is the paper published in *Nature* with more
    |images](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1)


      |u/welIokaythen - 19 hours
      |
      |TOE BEANS!!! Thank you for the link


  |u/TechTuna1200 - 1 day
  |
  |I have seen enough Jurassic Park to know where this is going


|u/iWillRe1gn - 1 day
|
|Ferb... I know what we're gonna do today.


|u/_dankelle - 1 day
|
|The one on the bottom is actually a lion cub


  |u/Shabbydesklamp - 1 day
  |
  |Yup! They measured it against the lion cub of the same age. The saber
  |kitten clearly came out cuter. It had a rounder skull (which would've
  |radically changed if it would've grown up) with a wider nose, smaller
  |ears and more shaggy fur. It was a murder teddy. Also it had a funny
  |little beard.


    |u/Faiakishi - 1 day
    |
    |This is why I downloaded mods to befriend the sabrecats in Skyrim.


      |u/Shabbydesklamp - 20 hours
      |
      |That already makes two of us.


  |u/Sremor - 1 day
  |
  |I think it's for comparison


    |u/FirstDagger - 1 day
    |
    |No, the bottom one is *Panthera leo*, a lion cub. [Read the
    |paper.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1)  >
    |[External appearance of three-week-old heads of large felid cubs,
    |right lateral view](https://media.springernature.com/full/springer-s
    |tatic/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-024-79546-1/MediaObjects/41598_20
    |24_79546_Fig2_HTML.png?as=webp): (A) *Homotherium latidens* (Owen,
    |1846), specimen DMF AS RS, no. Met-20-1, frozen mummy, Russia,
    |Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Indigirka River basin, Badyarikha
    |River; Upper Pleistocene; (B) *Panthera leo* (Linnaeus, 1758),
    |specimen ZMMU, no. S-210286; Recent.  Notice the "Recent" as
    |compared to the *Homotherium* specimen's "[Upper
    |Pleistocene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Pleistocene)".


        |u/FirstDagger - 1 day
        |
        |And now you have learned how misinformation spreads, [especially
        |since that poster edited the comment since.](https://www.reddit.
        |com/r/pics/comments/1gsj613/35000_yearold_sabertoothed_kitten_wi
        |th_preserved/lxfd4xu/)


            |u/stealthwaverider - 22 hours
            |
            |What an idiot


          |u/Penny_Leyne - 23 hours
          |
          |The poster made a mistake.   Misinformation takes two. The
          |person who posts it and the person gullible enough to believe
          |it without question.


|u/Captainseriousfun - 23 hours
|
|The news here is the climate change driven loss of Siberian permafrost.
|So much methane under there that when that goes because we can't change
|our behavior, we all go.


  |u/Mattdog625 - 21 hours
  |
  |Legit the only comment that mentions this I swear. Seeing this is not
  |interesting, it is scary. We're going to see a lot more things
  |uncovered soon and all the permafrost melting is going to release not
  |only tons of methane like you said but also all that frozen carbon
  |matter will thaw and decompose, releasing 700,000 years of carbon into
  |our atmosphere


|u/FairAndFancy - 1 day
|
|Looks like someone needs a nose boop


  |u/Devinroni - 1 day
  |
  |Maybe that'll wake him up


|u/Aggressive_Split_731 - 1 day
|
|Ancient Murder Kitty, I'd love to see them in full size but not alive
|alive.


  |u/Devinroni - 1 day
  |
  |Pssht. I wanna see them alive and pet them and cuddle with them and
  |shit


  |u/fowlmerchandise - 23 hours
  |
  |La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles has tons of skeletons of Saber Tooth
  |Cats and Dire Wolves preserved by the tar.


|u/BORT_licenceplate - 1 day
|
|Sweet little baby


  |u/TiresOnFire - 17 hours
  |
  |Pss pss pss pss...


|u/jules_jokes - 1 day
|
|He just took a little nap


  |u/SevenRedLetters - 1 day
  |
  |We nearly have the technology.  It's time to wake him up.


|u/kamilayao_0 - 1 day
|
|![gif](giphy|10tIjpzIu8fe0)  Poor kitty 😭😭😭😭😭😭


  |u/ZozulZozula - 20 hours
  |
  |Will he be OK?


    |u/kamilayao_0 - 18 hours
    |
    |![gif](giphy|dI53rvCkTsyJWFA3Fc|downsized)


|u/Cruise_alt_40000 - 1 day
|
|![gif](giphy|gVsmn4qdyBn1Bra2tN|downsized)


  |u/the_Rainiac - 1 day
  |
  |Definitely related


  |u/Kylo_Rens_8pack - 21 hours
  |
  |Catjam


|u/FeliniTheCat - 1 day
|
|r/cats


|u/MINKIN2 - 23 hours
|
|Soft kitty, cold kitty, little ball of fur.  Happy kitty, sleepy kitty,
|brrr, brrr, brrr.


  |u/WiseAce1 - 13 hours
  |
  |bazinga, only beat me by 9 hours, lol  perfect comment


|u/deetailor - 23 hours
|
|Can I pet that dawg?


|u/Difficult-Lock-8123 - 1 day
|
|If there is one species I really would like to see scientists bring
|back, it's these. Amazing animals. 


  |u/abbaj1 - 1 day
  |
  |Not dinosaurs?


    |u/DimondFlame - 1 day
    |
    |Not possible with dinosaurs as there is no DNA to extract.


      |u/SonoDarke - 1 day
      |
      |Yeah but it's the same with these mammals, right? I've heard that
      |DNA can't survive more than 1000 years


        |u/bamiru - 22 hours
        |
        |> Scientists have assembled the genome of a 52,000-year-old
        |woolly mammoth using first-of-its-kind fossil DNA fragments
        |unearthed in Siberia, an advance that takes researchers a step
        |closer to resurrecting the extinct giant beasts.
        |https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/woolly-mammoth-
        |fossil-siberia-resurrection-b2591730.html


          |u/SonoDarke - 19 hours
          |
          |Oh cool, I guess I wasn't that informed xd


|u/aitorkaranka27 - 1 day
|
|Can we bring them back ?


  |u/GoodGuyDrew - 1 day
  |
  |In theory.   If we can generate enough high-quality genomic sequences
  |(as we now have for the wooly mammoth) it may become practically
  |possible.  Here’s data from one individual Homotherium:
  |https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220314214


  |u/Faiakishi - 1 day
  |
  |There are multiple film series about why that isn't a good idea.


    |u/Duvoziir - 1 day
    |
    |![gif](giphy|OZfrYsxMri1vq)


      |u/irawwwr - 6 hours
      |
      |Uh


    |u/Palaponel - 23 hours
    |
    |I think what you mean to say is we have multiple documentaries
    |serving as proof points about what not to do, and therefore it is
    |now a good idea


      |u/Faiakishi - 22 hours
      |
      |You guys really want to get eaten by an adorable sabre-toothed
      |kitten, don’t you


        |u/Palaponel - 22 hours
        |
        |I want to feel alive


  |u/ToastyyPanda - 1 day
  |
  |I believe if you collect all Orange Ominous Stakes and then open the
  |Icerend Shrine in West Province you have a chance to catch one


|u/D-Sleezy - 1 day
|
|Wait. I thought the earth was only 6,000 years old. /s


  |u/Pleasant_Growth509 - 21 hours
  |
  |It’s older than that


    |u/D-Sleezy - 20 hours
    |
    |Damn. I even put an /s and everything.


      |u/WiseAce1 - 13 hours
      |
      |some people just don't understand the /s  lol


|u/Dismal_Database696 - 21 hours
|
|![gif](giphy|ycagKBYEmaili)


|u/Ollyoops90 - 1 day
|
|Saber-tooth king


|u/offlineonlinehoe - 18 hours
|
|aww babie


|u/TheRealCeeBeeGee - 1 day
|
|![gif](giphy|GAXMzzd2XElnG)  I’m here for saber toothed kitties making a
|comeback!


|u/Pixithepika - 1 day
|
|so eepy


|u/markth_wi - 1 day
|
|Well, wouldn't that be something.


|u/AthosN8 - 1 day
|
|Is it going to be ok?


|u/SpaceHippoDE - 1 day
|
|An entire species of cat that never knew the joy of squeezing into
|boxes.


  |u/FirstDagger - 21 hours
  |
  |Not even only species, genus ... nay sub-family even.


|u/GrouchySanta - 21 hours
|
|This makes me wanna cry


|u/krazycitizen - 19 hours
|
|probably found because the permafrost is melting.


|u/ju_st_no - 15 hours
|
|The implication that the perma frost has melted enough to obtain such
|specimens is a bit unnerving


|u/PiERetro - 1 day
|
|I want a saber-toothed kitten!


  |u/stealthwaverider - 22 hours
  |
  |You don’t deserve a saber tooth kitten.


    |u/PiERetro - 22 hours
    |
    |I might not deserve it, but I still want it!


|u/Ouranor - 22 hours
|
|Meanwhile I‘m over here freaking out about permafrost thawing. To those
|new to the subject: it‘s not a good thing. It‘s very, very bad.  At
|least the cub is really cute, the poor dear


|u/BraveLittleFrog - 21 hours
|
|Psspsspss…


|u/MadRhetoric182 - 15 hours
|
|Cool. Now Clone It.


|u/PostTwist - 1 day
|
|![gif](giphy|WclAmE6lD3KRW)


|u/ActuallyAlexander - 1 day
|
|Oh sure but when I post dead kittens on r/pics I get downvoted.


|u/Noahms456 - 1 day
|
|Sweet boo


|u/Numerous-Celery-8330 - 1 day
|
|I think this is sort of cute!


|u/i_am_a_user_name - 1 day
|
|New spawn point unlocked.


|u/Bheggard - 1 day
|
|It's fascinating seeing how many long lost species we can find frozen in
|ice. Really gives us a window into the past.


|u/Zero_C00L_ - 1 day
|
|35,000 years old is way past the kitten stage. It’s a geriatric cat.


|u/Sehrwolf - 1 day
|
|r/CatDistributionSystem


|u/littlespoon1 - 23 hours
|
|Bottom one looks like falkor


  |u/Saole - 19 hours
  |
  |Oh god, now I have to sing it. Loud.


|u/KingAltair2255 - 23 hours
|
|I lost my shit seeing this, what an amazing find


|u/CoolDigerati - 23 hours
|
|Wow! Looks real enough to touch!


|u/Blue_Eyed_ME - 23 hours
|
|Holy shit! Can we clone it? I have that on my bingo card.


  |u/ever3st - 18 hours
  |
  |Hold that tiger, have you not seen 'Jurassic Park' ?


|u/77horse - 22 hours
|
|Saber tooth kinda look like a cow baby


|u/No-Honeydew-8593 - 21 hours
|
|Some scientists muttering "Imma clone it".


|u/Yousucktaken2 - 20 hours
|
|Is he ok?


|u/blondedemily - 20 hours
|
|Precious baby 😭


|u/Garotodeipanema - 20 hours
|
|Poor kitty


|u/Toomanyredditaccnts - 20 hours
|
|Poor thing. A long cold night.


|u/Casual_Manticore - 20 hours
|
|If not friend, why friend shaped??


|u/calorum - 19 hours
|
|Is anyone else feeling like we’re pulling too many things out of the
|deep past, out of permafrost? Just let things lie dead and frozen. My
|immune system can barely handle a cold..


|u/EndlessResets - 19 hours
|
|I fucking love this


|u/my-finall-message - 18 hours
|
|Thats fucking sick


|u/gimmeluvin - 14 hours
|
|Let the cloning begin


|u/Importance-Aware - 13 hours
|
|This is the kind of stuff reddit should have


|u/Cjpcoolguy - 13 hours
|
|Give him back, he belongs to fry!


|u/MonoDEAL - 1 day
|
|Can I pet that dawg??


|u/TRiG993 - 1 day
|
|Will he be okay?


|u/Witty_Ticket_4101 - 1 day
|
|Someone needs to resurrect this fluffball for science and chaos!


|u/Goatknyght - 1 day
|
|Jurassic Meow


|u/asp7 - 1 day
|
|sabre-toothed alley cattus


|u/whodatdog7533 - 1 day
|
|Nah cuz this is acc kinda sad to see, like Bruv was just tryna sleep


|u/Deatrocity - 1 day
|
|Pst pst pst


|u/Hefty-Revenue5547 - 1 day
|
|Animals have gotten cuter


|u/kombi2k - 1 day
|
|But can it bark "Walkin' on sunshine"?


|u/Thisisredred - 1 day
|
|Now this is freaking cool


|u/Simple-Reception4262 - 1 day
|
|This is kinda blowing my mind right now


|u/HeavyMetalMachine - 1 day
|
|It's Morphin' Time!


|u/Bright_Respect_1279 - 1 day
|
|Hello little bebé. 😻


|u/YeshuasBananaHammock - 1 day
|
|#FREE cloned sabertooth for each upvote


|u/Critical_Business_95 - 1 day
|
|I think there is only studies ,we still can't breed or clone extinct
|animals yet.


|u/bingbangboomxx - 1 day
|
|poor lil guy


|u/Kaas_9 - 23 hours
|
|Friend shaped


|u/thePhilosopherTheory - 23 hours
|
|Is he okay


|u/GearDragon101 - 23 hours
|
|Eepy kibty


|u/Khaine123 - 23 hours
|
|Do we have the technology yet? I need for these things to be alive
|again.


|u/jeff-101 - 23 hours
|
|I bet they were beautiful


|u/Vanzarrk - 23 hours
|
|Not only moves in to your place but kicks you out and fucks the dog


|u/saleemi758 - 23 hours
|
|Prehistoric car


|u/Goat_gutz - 22 hours
|
|Did we learn nothing from Jurassic Park?!


|u/Pekoepuppy - 22 hours
|
|Simba!


  |u/ycr007 - 22 hours
  |
  |Li’l Diego


|u/TechSales1991 - 22 hours
|
|Can it be cloned?


  |u/FirstDagger - 21 hours
  |
  |Not with current tech as *Homotherium* is quite far remove from all
  |living cats.


|u/MyRockNRollSoul - 22 hours
|
|This is so damned cool! I needed to see something like this right now.


|u/Bubbly-Kitty-2425 - 22 hours
|
|Just know if I came across one of these living my last words would be
|pspspspsp here pretty kitty you look like you need a snuggle!


|u/Omfggtfohwts - 21 hours
|
|![gif](giphy|3o85xlDHNGjSuBkbkc)


|u/del1nquent - 21 hours
|
|ugh this is AMAZING


|u/Empire137 - 20 hours
|
|Clone it! The world needs big teeth kitty's


|u/No_Meal_1343 - 19 hours
|
|Seymour Diera? Is that you?


|u/Shoddy_Trust7580 - 18 hours
|
|Amazing 👏


|u/JamesMaysAnalBeads - 17 hours
|
|We gotta start bringing these fuckers back


|u/forevercurmudgeon - 17 hours
|
|Clone clone clone clone


|u/RigelVictoria - 16 hours
|
|Where saber teeth?


|u/ArchonFett - 16 hours
|
|Was it flash fossilized? I want to boop the snoot


|u/johnblazewutang - 16 hours
|
|Wait a minute…the sky daddy chronicals told me there were sabretooth
|tigers 5000 years ago…two of em…on a yuuuuge fricken ship….now your
|telling me this is 35-37k years old???? Something doesnt add up…im gonna
|telepathically talk to sky daddy and see what he says about this…


|u/Adventurous-Low7400 - 15 hours
|
|So this cat was dead 30000 years when they started the pyramids


|u/5kyl3r - 15 hours
|
|FRIEND SHAPE CONFIRMED


|u/Layhult - 14 hours
|
|Bring back the saber tooth!!!!


|u/StephieLG - 12 hours
|
|Boop!


|u/zoedargue - 12 hours
|
|🥺🥺


|u/pinpinnary - 11 hours
|
|Aww!


|u/HappyAntonym - 10 hours
|
|Is it weird that the difference in head shape immediately made me think
|"There's an alternate universe where sabertooth tigers evolved into the
|dominant intelligent lifeform and a bunch of cat people are walking
|around."??  Like, he kind of looks like a little man.


|u/thevel - 9 hours
|
|Wait? What?  How?  The earth is 2,000 years old .../s


|u/kieman96 - 4 hours
|
|That little goatee on the chin


|u/pop76 - 1 hour
|
|This can't be right. Bible says Earth is 6000 years old. /s


|u/deusirae1 - 1 hour
|
|He’s a Kiznti!


|u/CanAhJustSay - 1 day
|
|*Mommy...I'm cold.....*


  |u/Severe-Plant2258 - 1 day
  |
  |stop this will make me cry


|u/Quixote1492 - 1 day
|
|Will they clone it?


|u/goatfuckersupreme - 1 day
|
|pop him in the microwave for a few minutes, i wanna see a sabertooth
|kitten run around


|u/harav - 23 hours
|
|Pretty weird considering the earth is only 5k years old  Apparently I
|need to add an /s on here


  |u/Pleasant_Growth509 - 21 hours
  |
  |It’s older than that


  |u/kiwibirdsmoothie - 20 hours
  |
  |it’s not


  |u/Black-Briar - 13 hours
  |
  |Wat


|u/Bplumz - 1 day
|
|FAKE NEWS, FAKE SCIENCE.   I'm testing out my "Trump strategy" since
|they don't believe in science or logic or evidence or real life.


  |u/pikablue223 - 23 hours
  |
  |Man I hate trump as much as the next guy but this is so annoying


  |u/Arcaneus_Umbra - 1 day
  |
  |Nobody asked. Keep it to yourself


|u/Coaucto - 1 day
|
|It’s a photo of a kitten cadaver, to be a bit annoying 💃


  |u/FirstDagger - 1 day
  |
  |Technically it is two photos of two separate kitten cadavers, to be
  |really annoying.


    |u/Coaucto - 23 hours
    |
    |Great, just what I needed! Anyone to keep going with this?


      |u/FirstDagger - 22 hours
      |
      |Technically the top one isn't a cadaver either as modern non-
      |invasive techniques allowed the carcass to be left intact.
      |Furthermore cadaver or corpse is used to mean a dead human body
      |(the former for dissection) while carcass is used for other
      |animals. [The paper that described this frozen mummy calls it a
      |carcass.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1)
      |Mummy meaning of course a preserved dead body with tissue still
      |intact.


        |u/Coaucto - 16 hours
        |
        |magnificent. scientific process in action =>


|u/stephen250 - 1 day
|
|~6,000 but close


  |u/SickAndTiredOf2021 - 8 hours
  |
  |Do you have a scientific basis for that or are you just quoting your
  |fiction book as a source.


|u/ledewde__ - 1 day
|
|They still do science in the Russian federation?


|u/unlikelyandroid - 1 day
|
|It looks like this post is not about Politics. Various methods of
|filtering out content not relating to Politics can be found
|[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/wiki/v2/resources/filter/politics).
|*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please
|[contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pics)
|if you have any questions or concerns.*


  |u/SomeFreeTime - 1 day
  |
  |stupid bot.


    |u/stom - 1 day
    |
    |Not a bot, it's a stupid human.


  |u/RabidAbyss - 1 day
  |
  |Good. Now the election is over, we can resume normal activities on
  |this sub.


|u/MillenialDoomer - 1 day
|
|Cook it and eat it! 🤤


|u/PMmeURveinyBoobs - 1 day
|
|Did the Russians try to eat it?