Smilodon

Smilodon is a genus of big cat from the Pleistocene epoch famous for its large, sabre-like teeth. Three species are currently assigned to the genus, including the well-known North American S. fatalis and as the largest species, S. populator, from South America, which was the species featured in Prehistoric Park.

Portrayal in the series
To be added...

Saving the Sabretooth
When Nigel traveled back a million years to prehistoric South America, he encounters a female Smilodon while she was stalking a Toxodon. The female kills the herbivore and the whole pride feasts upon it. When the pride leaves, a Terror Bird emerges. Before it can start to eat, another Smilodon attacks, forcing the bird to retreat. Nigel, determined to get the terror bird for the park, steals a piece of meat the terror bird had dropped, the Smilodon roaring at Nigel as he does so.

Nigel later traveled to South America 10,000 years ago along with Saba Douglas-Hamilton, an expert on big cats, to capture one for the park. The pair set up camera traps, and one picks up on a young male who then knocked over and marked the camera. But earlier Saba found a cub, and they will go to it to see if the mother has returned. They see the cub and mother - but the cub is very weak. In the distance, they know there is the injured male, and decide to dart him first before darting the female and cub.

They manage to dart and escape the male, and once he has been sedated, they put him in the truck and head back to the female. However, when they arrive, they find out that they've come too late. The cub has died, and the mother is in poor condition. They sedate the female and take the two prehistoric cats back to the park.

The Bug House
The female and the young male Smilodon have fully recovered. Suzanne wants to proceed in getting them to breed, but the female shows a lot of aggression towards the young male. Later in the episode, Suzanne and other crew members construct climbing frames for the Smilodon pair. She believes this technique called "environment enrichment" will get the female and the young male Smilodon more comfortable with one another. One day later, Suzanne checks up on the Smilodon with their improved enclosures, with great results. The female is much happier with the climbing frames, and is not ignoring the young male. Later in the episode, Suzanne opens the barrier separating the two halves of the enclosure. While the female and the young male do swat at each other a little bit, the two cats do not lash out.



Supercroc
It is revealed that the female is still reproductively active, as she has given birth to two cubs. Unfortunately, however, she was having difficulty trying to produce milk for them probably because of not drinking enough water. Thankfully, Suzanne has taken them both in, but in doing so, she destroys the female Smilodon's bond with them. A few weeks after the Mass Break-Out, the two cubs have been weaned and are now consuming meat.

Behind the scenes
The name for the female Smilodon was never mentioned in the show. However, in a now unavailable/lost interactive desktop game, her name was revealed to be Sabrina. However, since her name was never mentioned in the show, it can be partially assumed that the name itself is non-canonical.

Trivia

 * Despite being compared to lions and tigers, their closest modern relative is the clouded leopard.