"Thera" The Ice Age Cat
Panthera leo atrox

Panthera (PAN-there-ah) = panther
leo (Lee-oh) = lion
atrox (A-trox) = fearsome

Found in interior Alaska in 1995 by Wasilla youth, Devon Foster, this skull of an Ice Age cat (American Lion) is one of less than a dozen found in Alaska. Carbon dated at 19,250 years old, Thera, a carnivore, probably belonged to a small pride that hunted mostly bison and smaller game.

"Thera's" teeth are rugged and pointed, good for grabbing other animals on the run, as well as for ripping and shredding meat.

American lions were among the largest flesh-eating land animals that lived during the Ice Age (Quaternary the last two million years) in America. American lions were characterized by their enormous size and relatively long, slender limbs. Males were nearly 25 percent larger than male African lions They ranged from Alaska and Yukon as far south as Peru.

Ice Age carnivores such as "Thera" were important to the balance of the ecosystem because they culled sick, weak or otherwise unfit animals from the herds. This is the natural way to keep the gene pools strong.

« Back to Exhibits