Long before Texas became a land of ranches and oil rigs, it was home to creatures that wouldn’t look out of place in a prehistoric bestiary.

From towering mammoths and razor-toothed saber cats to giant ground sloths and ancient bison, the Lone Star State was once a prime stomping ground for Ice Age megafauna.

Roughly 20,000 years ago, during the last glacial period, central and northern Texas offered a much cooler and wetter climate than the arid stretches we see today. It was a land of grasslands, rivers, and scattered forests—ideal territory for Ice Age giants.

Columbian mammoths, some weighing up to 10 tons, grazed in herds alongside prehistoric camels and enormous armadillo-like glyptodons. Saber-toothed cats, including the infamous Smilodon, stalked the shadows, while dire wolves—a more muscular, bone-crushing cousin of today’s gray wolf—hunted in coordinated packs.

Fossil evidence of these beasts has been uncovered across the state, from creek beds near Waco to the rocky plains of the Panhandle. Sites like the Waco Mammoth National Monument preserve the remains of dozens of mammoths that perished in a sudden flood, offering a haunting snapshot of the past.

By around 10,000 years ago, most of these massive animals had vanished. The exact reasons are still debated.

Some scientists point to climate change at the end of the Ice Age, which altered habitats and food supplies. Others suggest that the arrival of early human hunters may have played a role in their extinction.

It’s likely that a combination of these forces pushed these giants beyond the brink.

While their bones help us understand what these animals looked like, some of the most evocative relics are their footprints.

In places like Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas, tracks of ancient creatures—including those from earlier periods—are preserved in riverbeds, letting visitors quite literally walk alongside the past.

Today, you can find Ice Age fossils in museums and natural history exhibits throughout Texas.

But perhaps the most thrilling thought is this: beneath the surface of an ordinary Texas pasture, there might still be bones waiting to be unearthed.

Until next time,

Emails From Afar Team

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