SABER TOOTH CAT
Bronze Saber Cat Sculpture
CLIENT
University of Texas at Austin
Gift of Ernest and Sarah Butler
INSTALLATION
Texas Memorial Museum
September 30, 2007
DETAILS
Bronze with multi-colored patina
Life-and-a-quarter size
Homotherium is a machairodontine saber-toothed cat genus that lived approximately 3 million to 10,000 years ago in North America, Eurasia and Africa. The last scimitar cat survived in North America until 10,000 years ago. This predator probably hunted in packs, carrying away the large animals it brought down. One cave in Texas contained the remains of over 30 individuals, which were discovered along with the remains of between 300 and 400 juvenile mammoths.
The best known species of Homotherium is Homotherium serum from North America. It was about the height and weight of a modern lion and was built to run quickly, possibly as fast as 96 km/h (60 miles/h).