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A remarkable fresh animation depicts saber-toothed felines assaulting a group of shaggy mammoths toward the culmination of the recent glacial period in the icy reaches of North America.
Debuting Wednesday (Nov. 26) in an installment of Apple TV’s forthcoming series “Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age,” this excerpt investigates how renowned ice age creatures adjusted to shifts in their surroundings as the temperatures began to rise and their snowy habitat gradually vanished. Within the footage, a hunting party of five scimitar-toothed cats (Homotherium serum) — a species of saber-tooth cat that no longer exists — waylay a collection of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) that includes a diminutive calf and a sizable adult male.
“The entirety of that narrative unfolds in the frozen north, essentially Alaska-Yukon,” conveyed Mike Gunton, executive producer of the upcoming series and creative lead of BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit in the U.K., in correspondence with Live Science via email. “Both of these beings were, in effect, emblematic figures of the Ice Age, remarkably adapted for existence in the cold. The core of the story revolves around the events that transpire when these two varieties of animals encounter their changing environment.”
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As the recent ice age approached its conclusion roughly 11,500 years ago, ice extensions withdrew across North America. This action impelled specific species toward extinction, along with the impact from predation by humans then inhabiting the Americas, diminishing the faunal numbers that served as prey for scimitar-toothed cats. “The quarry they typically depended on for sustenance were less abundant than formerly,” Gunton stated. “As luck would have it, the felines discovered a gathering of mammoths infiltrating their zone, and they seized the chance to attempt a chase.”
The latest series from Apple TV revives celebrated creatures originating from the last ice age.
Woolly mammoths equally faced survival adversities at the cease of the previous ice age, and this excerpt depicts the herd adopting a distinctive trajectory across an open expanse in pursuit of novel foraging territories, elaborated Gunton. Unprotected — as highlighted in the clip — the mammoths fall into a barrage. Following a heart-stopping interval wherein a scimitar-toothed cat pounces onto the male mammoth, gripping his tusk utilizing its talons, the mammoth subdues the contingent of five felines and frightens them away.
Concurrently, the female members alongside the young retreat, gather collectively, and observe the scenario developing. While investigators suggest that woolly mammoth groups operated under female leadership, with the males scattering during adolescence, sexually matured males intermittently aligned with these groupings for breeding purposes, Gunton explained.
“These males experience what is termed [musth] — they possess organs situated within the temporal division of their craniums, secreting fluid and generating unique pheromones — an occurrence which arouses all present,” he elucidated. “This mammoth accompanied them [within the clip] resulting from the inclination of males merging into a group with the intention of procreating with females, resulting in their investment of substantial periods meandering together.”
The mammoths overcome this happening; nonetheless, the scimitar-toothed cats ultimately prove victorious throughout a phase subsequent to the display, Gunton mentioned.
“Toward the conclusion of the arrangement, we examine their recurrence deploying [an] altered tactic,” he continued, appending that one of the felines descends from an elevated rocky promontory onto the rear of the male mammoth, affording the other felines a chance to mount the animal and subdue the mammoth. “Subsequently, they nourish themselves,” Gunton noted.
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The predatorial approach adopted by scimitar-toothed cats demonstrated within the secondary clip bears resemblance to that exhibited by leopards, identified for their aerial assaults on quarry, as asserted by Gunton. The simulation of these attacks presented a significant obstacle for those engaged in cinematography, attributed to the fact that “you’ve got two beings crafted by virtual artistry engaging directly,” he clarified.
An increased complexity pertained to providing realism for the beings, granted their dense coats of fur and their movement across an environment blanketed in snow.
“Each individual animal will possess numerous specific minute fibers distributed across it, acting autonomously,” Gunton described. “Furthermore, their activities are occurring on a background of snow, invoking intricacy amidst the interrelation between snow components. It’s roughly the peak of obstacles to conquer within this series.”
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Sascha PareSocial Links NavigationStaff writer
Sascha functions as a U.K.-based staff author at Live Science. She maintains a baccalaureate in biology from the University of Southampton within England and a master’s in scientific communication procured from Imperial College London. Her endeavors have manifested in The Guardian accompanied by the health-centric domain Zoe. Beyond her vocational endeavors, she appreciates participating in tennis, cultivating breads, furthermore, evaluating resale boutiques seeking underdiscovered curios.
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