A saber-toothed tiger in Mississippi? Man finds toe bone to prove it

During their prime, saber-toothed tigers weighed up to 750 pounds. For comparison, a modern male African lion weighs about 450 pounds, according to Zoo Atlanta. The bigger cats existed 56 million to 11,700 years ago and became extinct between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, according to Britannica.

And Eddie Templeton of Mississippi found a crystalized toe bone belonging to one of them.

“I knew it was a mineralized bone. I knew it was from the Pleistocene Ice Age, but I didn’t know what it was from,” Templeton told the Clarion Ledger. “It’s not particularly large or impressive, but it is complete.”

The ice age predator is a rare find, especially in the creeks of Mississippi. According to George Phillips — state paleontologist of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science — there are six fossilized saber-toothed bones in the museum’s collection.

“Carnivores are always rare,” Phillips said. “Carnivores are always smaller populations than what they prey on.”

Credit: A fossilized toe bone found in Yazoo County, Mississippi. Eddie Templeton to The Clarion-Ledger

Credit: A fossilized toe bone found in Yazoo County, Mississippi. Eddie Templeton to The Clarion-Ledger

Some reports say the tigers’ teeth can grow up to 8 inches long, but Phillips said the number is more likely in the double digits.

“They’re about 10 1/2 inches long. Slightly more than half of that is embedded in the skull. We’re looking at about 5-inches beyond the gum line. It had a well-developed shoulder, neck and jaw musculature. That, coupled with the sabers, contributed to its specialized feeding,” he said.

Although Templeton found a great piece of history, he said he hopes to find more bones belonging to big cats.

“It’s got me optimistic I might find a tooth,” Templeton said. “That would be a ‘wow’ moment.”