Smilodon became extinct around 10,000 BC, a time which saw the extinction of many other large herbivorous and carnivorous mammals.
Prehistoric humans, who reached North America at the end of the Ice age, are often viewed as responsible for this extinction wave. Others have suggested that the end of the ice age caused the extinction. As the ice age ended there would have been shrinking environments and changing vegetation patterns. Extensive grasslands, with different types of grasses, and isolated forests replaced healthy mixes of forests and grasslands. The summer and winter both became more extreme and North America began to dry out or began to be covered in snow, thus denying food sources for mammoths and in turn Smilodon. However, this hypothesis does not explain how Smilodon and its ancestors successfully survived many previous interglacials.
Prehistoric humans, who reached North America at the end of the Ice age, are often viewed as responsible for this extinction wave. Others have suggested that the end of the ice age caused the extinction. As the ice age ended there would have been shrinking environments and changing vegetation patterns. Extensive grasslands, with different types of grasses, and isolated forests replaced healthy mixes of forests and grasslands. The summer and winter both became more extreme and North America began to dry out or began to be covered in snow, thus denying food sources for mammoths and in turn Smilodon. However, this hypothesis does not explain how Smilodon and its ancestors successfully survived many previous interglacials.
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