An Old Cat

[Recusant]

That impression of the former president has stood the test of time, I'd say. 

Now, news of a different old cat. 

"Newly identified saber-toothed cat is one of largest in history" | Ohio State News

An artist's depiction of Machairodus lahayishupup eating Hemiauchenia, a camel relative.
Artist: Roger Witter

A giant saber-toothed cat lived in North America between 5 million and 9 million years ago, weighing up to 900 pounds and hunting prey that likely weighed 1,000 to 2,000 pounds, scientists reported today in a new study.

The researchers completed a painstaking comparison of seven uncategorized fossil specimens with previously identified fossils and bone samples from around the world to describe the new species. Their finding makes a case for the use of the elbow portion of the humerus – in addition to teeth – to identify fossils of large saber-toothed cats whose massive forearms enabled them to subdue their prey.

The newly identified cat weighed an average of around 600 or so pounds and could have managed to kill prey weighing up to 6,000 pounds, the scientists estimate, suggesting that their findings provide evidence for another giant cat, one of the largest in Earth history.

"We believe these were animals that were routinely taking down bison-sized animals," said study co-author Jonathan Calede, an assistant professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at The Ohio State University's Marion campus. "This was by far the largest cat alive at that time."

Calede completed the study with John Orcutt, assistant professor of biology at Gonzaga University, who initiated the project. Orcutt found a large upper arm bone specimen that had been labeled as a cat in the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History collection when he was a graduate student, and collaborated with Calede on the years-long effort to figure out what kind of cat it could be.

They have determined that the new species is an ancient relative of the best-known saber-toothed cat Smilodon, the famous fossil found in the La Brea Tar Pits in California that went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

The Oregon specimen was excavated on the traditional lands of the Cayuse, a tribe joined with the Umatilla and Walla Walla in the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. In recognition of its origin, Calede and Orcutt collaborated with the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute to name the new species Machairodus lahayishupup. Machairodus is a genus of large saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Eurasia and North America, and in the Old Cayuse language, Laháyis Húpup means "ancient wild cat."

[Continues . . .]

[Tank]

Mice would be safe. It wouldn't bother with mice!

[Recusant]

The juveniles might, though. 

[Tank]

That's true!

[Bluenose]

Hmm, can't beat that. The best we poor Aussies can manage is Thylacoleo carnifex which only attained a size of 124–160 kg (273–353 lb).  However, it survive until about 30,000 years ago, so it would have been encountered by the first Australians.