Recently, an eagle-eyed paleontology student spied a tell-tale clue showing that Sabre-Toothed tigers once lived in Canada’s Alberta province. What could this mean for our hopes that other large cats might be living in the far North today? CryptoVille investigates!

One tiny metacarpal bone has opened up a world of speculation, at least in my mind. Found by paleontology doctoral student Ashley Reynolds (University of Toronto) at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, the small bone was originally found years ago in a dig over on the west side of Canada in the province of Alberta. I’ve discussed this with you before. It seems like every museum in the world has what must be the equivalent of the “junk drawer” in all our kitchens – a place where small, incomplete pieces are shoved until someone has the time and energy to go through and identify them. Decades can go by.

Fortunately this time, Ms. Reynolds was looking in the drawer and recognized the metacarpal bone from a Smilodon fatalis (Sabre Toothed Tiger). This piece, along with some other very small pieces, were found in the 1960s in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Why is this significant?

History Revealed

Prior to this discovery, it was thought that S. fatalis only reached as far north as Idaho in the United States. Once again, animals show us, even as fossils, that they have their own minds and will do exactly as they please. So back in the 60s, paleontologist C.S. Churcher found the fossil remains somewhere along the South Saskatchewan River, along some bluffs. At the time, he and his team collected around 1,200 specimens of various animals. This area is due north of Montana, not far from the U.S./Canada border.

I should mention that scientists actually call this a Sabre-Toothed cat now because it was never as large as modern day tigers, and was in fact, smaller and more compact. They tell us that S.fatalis is also as closely related to the fuzzballs that run our lives on the home-front as they are large, ferocious tigers.

Ms. Reynolds and her team estimated this animal lived in the area 35,000-40,000 years ago. At that time the area was a huge plain filled with animals ranging from horses, camels, and bison to smaller prey like rodents and hares.  They also identified smaller animal fossils of lynx or bobcat from this cache of specimens which still roam throughout that area of Canada today.

The scientists also said they found the fossil of an American lion in that grouping, as well as what might be the fossil remains of a cave lion. The possible cave lion fossil didn’t have enough pieces to make a definite ID possible, so it remains just a possibility. If it does turn out to be the remains of a cave lion, the scientists said it would be the southernmost evidence of its range.

Another paleontologist not involved in this study, but who is nonetheless well versed in ice age carnivore studies, Larisa DeSantis of Vanderbilt University said, ‘The discovery of Smilodon in Canada is exciting as it’s a major northward expansion of the range of the species. While it wouldn’t be unexpected that Sabre-Toothed cats could live in that part of Canada, it’s hard finding specimens there that can be “definitively identified,” especially since carnivores are generally rarer than herbivores.”

Major Problem

And in that one statement, Ms. DeSantis sums up a major problem with finding and trying to prove large cats roamed the northernmost areas of the American continent. Carnivores are generally rarer than herbivores.

So what does this mean for any large cats roaming the far reaches of Alaska and the Canadian northwest today? Well it means they’re going to be exceedingly hard to find. I would almost give up on the search if it weren’t for local people who swear they’ve seen large cat-like creatures from time to time.

And what could it mean for the Dire Wolves or some hybrid of theirs – could they be living in the harsh cold northern environment? What about the Amur tiger, if it made its way over Beringia during the last ice age? Could they still be living a hidden life?

Some CryptoVille readers have told me they feel there have been legitimate sightings of modern- day cave lions in northern California.

The thing is, with animals, it’s very hard to tell. Remember my article on the California Condor that was photographed flying over a state park in northern Alabama just a few years ago? According to a bird expert I asked to identify the bird, he said it shouldn’t have been there. Someone clearly forgot to tell that condor. (Link to this article is in the references below.)

I don’t know if any of these carnivores are still living out in the wild today, or if hybrids of their lineage or new related species are living there. Like everything else, it’s going to take research both in the lab and out in the field. The problem is, the field work required here is treacherous. People go missing in Alaska quite often even when they’re not looking for cryptids.

For now, all we can do is speculate and wonder, and that’s half the fun of pondering cryptozoology, isn’t it?

Til the next time!

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References

https://visitcryptoville.com/2014/10/10/alaskan-tiger-another-great-beast-of-the-north/

https://visitcryptoville.com/2014/09/16/the-saber-wolf-alaskas-other-cryptid/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sabre-toothed-cat-1.5305505

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