Sabre-toothed tigers were actually sabre-toothed cats, or Smilodon, which lived mainly in the Americas and became extinct about 10,000 years ago. Their teeth were between 18 and 28 centimetres long. It’s believed Smilodon used their teeth on subdued prey to cut off the blood supply and strangle them. Despite the larger teeth, they had a weaker bite than modern-day big cats, but they could open their jaws 120 degrees – a lion’s limit is 60.