Jennifer Zeiger - Saber-Toothed Cat

Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Content Adviser: Gregory M. Erickson, PhD, Paleontologist, Department of Biological Science,
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

Reading Adviser: Marla Conn, Read With Me Now

Photo Credits: Cover top, Kostyantyn Ivanyshen/Shutterstock.com; cover bottom and page 12,
TsuneoMP/Shutterstock.com; page 4, Catmando/Shutterstock.com; page 6, Ozja/Shutter
stock.com; page 8, iStockphoto.com/WLDavies; page 10, AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes;
page 14, National Geographic Image Collection/Alamy; page 16, Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy;
page 18, mikeledray/Shutterstock.com; page 20, AP Photo/The Fresno Bee, Mark Crosse.

Copyright 2016 by Cherry Lake Publishing
All rights reserved, No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zeiger, Jennifer, author.
Saber-toothed cat / by Jennifer Zeiger.
pages cm.(Dinosaurs) (21st century junior library)
Summary: Learn all about the ancient animals known as saber-toothed cats, from what they ate to
how they are related to todays cats.Provided by publisher.
Audience: K to grade 3
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-63362-386-6 (lib. bdg.)ISBN 978-1-63362-414-6 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-63362-442-9 (pdf)ISBN 978-1-63362-470-2 (e-book)
1. Saber-toothed tigersJuvenile literature. 2. Extinct mammalsJuvenile literature. [1. Prehistoric
animals.] I. Title.
QE882.C15Z45 2016
569.74dc23
ISBN-13 978-1-68444-516-5 (e-book) 2014045659

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Please visit www.p21.org for more information.

Printed in the United States of America
Corporate Graphics
July 2015

Synchred Read-Along Version by:
Triangle Interactive LLC
PO Box 573
Prior Lake, MN 55372

contents

A saber-toothed cat watches for its next meal.

What Was a
Saber-Toothed Cat?

I magine an ancient grassland . A large
cat crouches in the long grass. It is covered
in fur, just like cats today. It has sharp claws
and strong legs. Two long canine teeth
stick out from its mouth. These teeth give the
cat its name. It is a saber-toothed cat!
A saber is a long, curved sword.

Many saber-toothed cats lived where the
weather could become very cold.

Saber-toothed cats were once found
around the world. Europe, Asia, Africa,
and North and South America had saber-
toothed cats. These animals lived between
million and 10,000 years ago. Some
saber-toothed cats met early humans. None
of these cats are alive today, though. They
are extinct .

Ask
Questions!

There are many reasons a plant or animal might
go extinct. Can you think of any? Talk to a teacher,
librarian, parent, or other trusted adult. Ask what they
know about it. Have any plants or animals gone extinct
while you were alive?

Some saber-toothed cats were about as big as
todays lions.

What Did a
Saber-Toothed Cat
Look Like?

I n many ways, saber-toothed cats
looked like todays lions or tigers. They were
covered in fur and walked on four legs.
Their paws were large. Each paw had sharp
claws. The claws only came out when they
were needed. Some saber-toothed cats had
long tails. Others had almost no tail at all.

The tooth on the left belonged to a baby
saber-toothed cat. The one on the right
belonged to an adult.

What do you notice first about a saber-
toothed cat? Probably its two canine teeth!
These teeth could be as long as inches
(20 centimeters)! They stuck out even when
the cat closed its mouth. The cat had to
open its mouth very wide to use these teeth.

Think!

Other animals have really long teeth, too. Some of
these animals were around thousands or millions
of years ago. Others are alive today! Can you
think of any? Hint: Tusks are a type of tooth.

Saber-toothed cats used their strong legs to pounce
on the animals they hunted.

Some saber-toothed cats had short
legs. These cats were heavy and strong.
They were not fast, but they were good at
jumping. Other saber-toothed cats were
taller. They had longer, thinner legs. This
helped them run fast.

Large ground sloths were sometimes a
saber-toothed cats meal.

How Did a
Saber-Toothed
Cat Live?

J ust like cats today, saber-toothed cats
ate meat. They were predators . They
usually hunted animals that were much
larger than they were. These animals
included horses and bison. Some
saber-toothed cats may even have
hunted humans.