James watched Mom and Dad drink water beside the river, and something quickly caught his attention.
The way they drank looked surprisingly complex.
Instead of scooping water with their tongues the way dogs did, they only touched the surface lightly with the tip of their tongue before pulling it back quickly.
As the tongue lifted, a small column of water formed between the surface of the river and the tip of their tongue.
Mom and Dad then closed their mouths at the exact moment that column rose high enough.
The water slipped neatly into their mouths.
Again and again they repeated the movement.
Each motion was smooth and controlled.
James stared in fascination.
That's… actually pretty elegant.
He suddenly remembered how dogs drank water in his previous life.
Dogs splashed water everywhere, turning the ground into a mess.
Compared to that, the drinking method of big cats looked refined.
So this is the difference between cat royalty and dog chaos.
Curious, James stuck out his own tongue and tried to copy the movement.
It worked.
Kind of.
But the efficiency was terrible.
Mom and Dad drank for less than half a minute before they were done.
James tried the same thing and barely swallowed a few mouthfuls.
He was still practicing when the ground suddenly trembled.
Boom… boom… boom…
The vibration spread through the soil and even rippled across the surface of the river.
Mom and Dad immediately lifted their heads.
Their ears turned toward the sound.
Their bodies stiffened with alertness.
James quickly moved closer to them.
What kind of animal makes footsteps that heavy?
The answer appeared a moment later.
From the forest emerged a massive creature.
It was covered in long hair and moved slowly on powerful limbs.
Each step shook the ground.
When the animal stepped into the open, James finally saw it clearly.
His eyes widened.
A giant ground sloth.
This was the largest ground sloth species ever known.
During the Ice Age it was the third largest land animal, smaller only than mammoths and mastodons.
Standing nearly six meters long, the creature looked almost as large as an elephant.
When it raised its body upright, its height rivaled that of a giraffe.
Its weight could reach four or five tons.
Compared to it, James felt tiny.
Even Mom and Dad looked small.
The giant ground sloth slowly approached the river.
It had come to drink.
When it noticed the saber-toothed tigers nearby, it didn't react with fear.
Instead, it simply glanced at them.
Its expression was calm and Indifferent
Then it lowered its head and began drinking water.
James blinked.
Did that thing just ignore us?
He felt slightly offended.
Hey… we're predators too.
But he kept that thought to himself.
If that monster swung one of its claws, the fight would end instantly.
The ground sloth's forelimbs were thick and powerful.
Each of its claws could reach forty centimeters long.
They looked like curved blades.
Against those weapons, even saber teeth seemed less impressive.
No wonder adult ground sloths had almost no natural enemies.
Even the giant short-faced bear avoided them whenever possible.
Mom and Dad clearly had the same opinion.
Without making any aggressive moves, they slowly backed away.
Picking a fight with that creature would be pointless.
James watched the enormous animal carefully.
The Age of Giants really lives up to its name.
He suddenly wondered something.
What kind of predator could hunt something like that?
For a moment, one answer flashed through his mind.
Humans
Ancient humans already existed during this time.
Late Homo sapiens had appeared near the end of the Ice Age.
Unlike earlier human species, they possessed larger brains and more advanced tools.
They knew how to craft stone weapons.
They could control fire.
They could work together in groups.
Even enormous animals like mammoths could fall to coordinated human hunters.
In fact, many prehistoric creatures eventually disappeared after humans arrived.
James knew this history well.
Yet now, standing here as a saber-toothed tiger, the thought felt strange.
Humans had once been his own kind.
But now?
Now they were simply another predator.
And perhaps the most dangerous one of all.
Honestly… I'd rather not meet them.
The giant ground sloth finished drinking.
Without paying the tigers any further attention, it slowly turned and disappeared back into the forest.
Only after it was gone did the tension fade.
James released a quiet breath.
Yeah… let's avoid those things in the future.
Even a saber-toothed tiger knew when it was wise to stay out of someone else's way.