SkunkyArt | Noctis-Vampyre — Smilodon Fatalis

The canines of smilodon fatalis have been measured to be weak to side to side trauma, easily breaking under such circumstances; the predator’s bite was also weak for its size, and it’s likely it hunted by inserting the teeth into the throat of its prey with almost surgical precision and then removing them.

The large dewclaw, combined with its big and muscular forelegs and lower back injuries found in the fossils, suggests that smilodon fatalis stood on its hindlegs to grip prey and topple it over, which makes sense because;

The short tail means that smilodon fatalis could not balance itself well while moving swiftly, and would not have been very agile. Prey could easily escape by turning if the smilodon was chasing them, so this massive predator probably relied heavily on stealth and more tactical kills.

Injuries found in some of the fossils indicate that these animals could survive for years after sustaining them, even if they would have made hunting difficult, which implies some sort of social groups and behavior.