Atreyee Poddar
The Ice Age belonged to animals designed to survive in a harsh cold world. During the Ice Age, which lasted from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, some of the most terrifying carnivores on Earth were created. These five creatures from the Ice Age actually dominated the freezing tundra.
Smilodon was heavily built with canine teeth that could grow up to seven inches long. Often called the ‘saber-toothed tiger’, it wasn’t actually a tiger at all, but a distinct species of prehistoric big cat. Fossils found at California’s La Brea Tar Pits suggest these cats may even have hunted in groups.
Dire wolves were larger, stockier, and possessed stronger, bone-breaking jaws than grey wolves today. They roamed across North and South America in vast numbers, hunting bison, horses, camels, and massive sloths. When these predators work together, they may defeat much larger prey.
Arctodus Simus stood over 11 feet tall on its hind legs. Scientists still debate whether Arctodus was an active hunter or an intimidating scavenger that stole kills from other predators. Either way, its size alone would have made it terrifying.
During the Ice Age, the cave lion roamed throughout Europe and northern Asia, much larger than modern African lions. Large prey that cave lions hunted included bison, reindeer, and potentially even young woolly mammoths.
The largest terrestrial lizard known to science was Megalania, a massive prehistoric monitor lizard that could reach a length of more than 20 feet. Megalania, which is closely related to the Komodo dragon of today, probably had poisonous saliva.