A new study adds to evidence that saber-toothed cats possibly shared some of their kills with others unable to hunt for themselves. (photo courtesy of La Brea Tar Pits )

Published in “Scientific Reports,” a new study led by Dr. Mairin Balisi, a postdoctoral fellow at La Brea Tar Pits, in collaboration with orthopedic surgeons at Cedars-Sinai hospital, used 3D image reconstruction of external and internal bone morphology to reveal that saber-toothed cat suffered from hip dysplasia.

The discovery suggests a social structure that helped the cats survive to adulthood, even when they couldn’t hunt for themselves due to the birth defect.

Using computed tomography, the same technology common in hospitals and veterinarian offices, the pelvis and matching thighbone were scanned, and the resulting images were used to create 3D models of the inside of the bones.

After careful analysis of the bones’ internal structure, the team concluded that the damage wasn’t the result of an injury suffered on the hunt, but congenital hip dysplasia.

Common in pet dogs and cats, the malformation of the hip bone’s ball and socket joints, called hip dysplasia, would have been extremely problematic for a Smilodon. The Smilodon’s impressive size meant that it needed to prey on megaherbivores like bison and camels to survive.

Like living big cats, the smilodon needed strong hind limbs for speed, and from the initial leap to the subsequent grappling required to take down large prey, healthy hips would have been critical to their hunting strategy.

“In this case, our animal sustained a developmental condition, not an injury, and was able to live to adulthood – suggesting that it must have received support, perhaps by food-sharing with its family,” Balisi said.

This isn’t the first sign of saber-tooth social behavior. In other Smilodon fossils, researchers have found signs of healing from grievous injuries that likely would’ve meant starving without support. Though researchers can never fully understand the social structures of extinct animals like Smilodon, computed tomography and digital data continues to help diagnose their injuries, revealing more about how they lived and lived with each other.

For information, visit tarpits.org.