Cracked and broken wolf teeth, some of them from skulls stored in Yellowstone National Park, have led a California researcher to theorize about the diets of prehistoric predators like dire wolfs, saber toothed cats and spotted hyenas that once roamed the Americas. The study used preserved skulls from Yellowstone, Michigan and Scandanavia to note that as prey populations decline, wolves get more cracked teeth from chewing on bones to get their nutrition. Looking at fossil skulls of the Ice Age predators, the same cracks and breakage were noted in the teeth suggesting they too were struggling to find food.
To learn more about the study, check out my story in this week’s Billings Gazette at https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/broken-yellowstone-wolf-teeth-reveal-theory-about-ice-age-extinctions/article_55a63b04-5706-50fc-a9aa-752fcb898b76.html.
(written by Brett French-Outdoors Editor for the Billings Gazette/Montana Untamed)
