Dire Wolves, Saber-Toothed Cats Could Have Suffered From Arthritis, Study Shows

A group of scientists examined wild animal bones and found out that some of them could have suffered arthritis.

The experts concluded that saber-toothed cats and dire wolves appeared to have acquired bone and joint disease towards the end of their existence. A Live Science report said that these creatures were inbreeding as they went into extinction.

Paleontologist Mairin Balis noted that these wild animals could have gone through tough times following the disease that they obtained some 12,000 years ago.

Content of the study

Paleontologists wanted to grasp how exactly these wild animals died, including the iconic predators like the saber-tooth cat and the dire wolf. A New York Times report said the reason could be because of stiff competition for food, however, researchers had found out that it could be due to a bone illness.

They explained that as the climate shifted, the bones of saber-tooth cats and dire wolves had gone riddled, with defects associated with osteochondrosis dissecans or OCD. This is a severe developmental disease where holes are being formed in a bone due to a developing tissue that never hardened.

Experts said that the hole is then filled with a cartilage flap that can result in painful inflammation.

Veterinary orthopedic surgeon Dr. Hugo Schmökel said OCD is a common orthopedic disease affecting the joints of rapidly growing dogs. He said there were also cases reported among snow leopards, however, some cases could have been not recorded.

The findings of the research indicated that around six percent of the limb bones of young adult and juvenile saber-tooth cats, specifically knee joints, had divots which has a measure of less than seven millimeters.

Meanwhile, almost three percent of the young adult and juvenile dire wolves had defects in the knee joints that measure more than 12 millimeters.

Prevalence of the disease

A report in The Independent mentioned that a further study on other fossil sites might reveal the patterns in the prevalence of the said disease, including whether these joint diseases had hindered the hunting abilities of the predators that lived years ago.

The research made would show the shared common ailments with the cats and dogs living in homes at present.

Science Daily reported that the study was limited to isolated bones from a single fossil locality; meaning, more studies could shed light on the other aspects of these animals' lives.

The study bared the possibility that the high incidence of the disease in the wild animals mentioned could be a sign of dwindling populations because these ancient species had approached extinction.

They also speculated that the wild animals could have suffered from inbreeding as their population sizes had decreased.

Evolutionary ecologist Ashley Reynolds said studies about fossil record is interesting because it provides a holistic look on the evolution of things as well as their entire existence.

The disease can bring varying levels of pain and lameness among modern domestic animals while in the past years, these bone diseases can actually heal on their own, the study said.

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