“Lions hunting Bison, Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave, France. Upper Paleolithic, c.35000 BCE …

Simbakubwa Kutoaafrike is not related to cats or any living carnivore.

The are Hyaenodonts.

Hyaenodonts are thought to have evolved in Africa during the Paleocene era immediately after the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, before spreading into Europe and Asia. I think of of them as cats with lizard brains. I know. That’s a pretty terrifying thought.

Scary, but incredibly cool.

Simbakubwa kutoaafrika was twice the size of a polar bear (Image: MAURICIO ANTON)