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Description

Inktober day 2

Sometime during the interglacial, maybe middle Pleistocene, maybe late (Eemian in that case), a cave lion (Panthera spelaea or Panthera (spelaea) fossilis) has found the recently dead carcass of a straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus , and begins feeding, entering the carcass from the anus in order to access the intestines. Nearby some cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) have been attracted. The lion may want to eat quickly, as he may soon be bullied off the carcass should the hyenas arrive in numbers. There is also r̶a̶n̶d̶o̶m̶ ̶d̶e̶b̶r̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶b̶b̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ a small frenzy of vultures attracted to the kill, awaiting their turn.

Evidence from from bite marks from both woolly mammoth and straight tusked elephant remains found at scavenging sites in Europe caused by large carnivores (almost certainly cave lion and hyena) shows a similar pattern of feeding to the modern day lion and hyena on African elephants. Lions, and to a lesser extent, hyenas, will first access the carcass via the anus, and will eat the intestines of the animal. Additionally, hyenas will also remove the feet of a proboscidean carcass in order to carry them away and eat in safety (carcasses can be a dangerous place to be, evidently). In the Pleistocene elephants too, their metapodials are often missing from the skeletons, or highly chewed, suggesting a similar behaviour in the cave hyena, whose dens also contain remains of mammoth and straight-tusked elephant feet. Furthermore, at some scavenging sites, such as Siegsdorf (mammoth) and Neumark-Nord(straight-tusked elephant), both in Germany, the remains of both cave lion and hyena are found alongside those of the scavenged elephants. Indeed, at Neumark-Nord, and almost complete skeleton of a senile lioness was uncovered, which bore a pathology in one of its canines, possibly a condition which prevented her from acquiring prey properly, and forcing her to resort to alternative sources of food such as scavenging more often, a phenomenon seen in modern pathologiesed big cats too, where the alternative food source can often mean humans. It is likely that her remains, alongside the more fragmentary remains of another lion at the site, as well as those of hyenas and other lions at both sites, were killed in interspecific antagonistic fights over a carcass, the lioness skeleton from Neumark-Nord being relatively well-preserved due to her body being submerged in the lake which also bore the elephant carcass, both of which were not scavenged to their fullest extent by cave hyenas due to the water.

I tried to make the elephant somewhat hairy, at least Asian elephant level given the latitude in which it lived, but I kinda rushed it and I think it may look too hairy. Also the position of the tusks is defo off, kinda hard to draw dem tings but hey. The background is also very half-assed, prolly couldda added more detail in than that. The obligatory interglacial pine trees which don't even look like pines are of course present.

Meh, seems like an OK piece, I suppose.

link.springer.com/article/10.1…

Description

Inktober day 2

Sometime during the interglacial, maybe middle Pleistocene, maybe late (Eemian in that case), a cave lion (Panthera spelaea or Panthera (spelaea) fossilis) has found the recently dead carcass of a straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus , and begins feeding, entering the carcass from the anus in order to access the intestines. Nearby some cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) have been attracted. The lion may want to eat quickly, as he may soon be bullied off the carcass should the hyenas arrive in numbers. There is also r̶a̶n̶d̶o̶m̶ ̶d̶e̶b̶r̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶i̶b̶b̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶ a small frenzy of vultures attracted to the kill, awaiting their turn.

Evidence from from bite marks from both woolly mammoth and straight tusked elephant remains found at scavenging sites in Europe caused by large carnivores (almost certainly cave lion and hyena) shows a similar pattern of feeding to the modern day lion and hyena on African elephants. Lions, and to a lesser extent, hyenas, will first access the carcass via the anus, and will eat the intestines of the animal. Additionally, hyenas will also remove the feet of a proboscidean carcass in order to carry them away and eat in safety (carcasses can be a dangerous place to be, evidently). In the Pleistocene elephants too, their metapodials are often missing from the skeletons, or highly chewed, suggesting a similar behaviour in the cave hyena, whose dens also contain remains of mammoth and straight-tusked elephant feet. Furthermore, at some scavenging sites, such as Siegsdorf (mammoth) and Neumark-Nord(straight-tusked elephant), both in Germany, the remains of both cave lion and hyena are found alongside those of the scavenged elephants. Indeed, at Neumark-Nord, and almost complete skeleton of a senile lioness was uncovered, which bore a pathology in one of its canines, possibly a condition which prevented her from acquiring prey properly, and forcing her to resort to alternative sources of food such as scavenging more often, a phenomenon seen in modern pathologiesed big cats too, where the alternative food source can often mean humans. It is likely that her remains, alongside the more fragmentary remains of another lion at the site, as well as those of hyenas and other lions at both sites, were killed in interspecific antagonistic fights over a carcass, the lioness skeleton from Neumark-Nord being relatively well-preserved due to her body being submerged in the lake which also bore the elephant carcass, both of which were not scavenged to their fullest extent by cave hyenas due to the water.

I tried to make the elephant somewhat hairy, at least Asian elephant level given the latitude in which it lived, but I kinda rushed it and I think it may look too hairy. Also the position of the tusks is defo off, kinda hard to draw dem tings but hey. The background is also very half-assed, prolly couldda added more detail in than that. The obligatory interglacial pine trees which don't even look like pines are of course present.

Meh, seems like an OK piece, I suppose.

link.springer.com/article/10.1…