Cavemen were scared of sabretooth cats

Scientists have discovered that early man was hunted by several species of sabretooth cats

Scientists have discovered two new breeds of sabretooth cats.

They had already known that one breed of sabretooth cat called the Machairodus kabir which weighed 350-490kg, about as much as a lion.

Patrick Vignaud, director of Poitier University's Institute of Palaeo-primatology and Human Palaeontology, told BBC News: "We don't know what precisely the interactions were between a humans and a big carnivore. But probably these interactions were not so friendly.. Sabretooths hunted all mammals."

Even though the sabretooths hunted man, they were important for mans' survival. Sabretooths killed and ate large mammals, but would have left enough meat on the bones for scavengers and omnivores such as early humans, to pick at and eat.

Watch this clip from BBC show 'Ice Age Death Trap' to find out more about sabretooths.

Image source: American Museum of Natural History.

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