Story Topics | La Brea Tar Pits

An elephant, tapir, saber-toothed cat, llama, and pecarry face off with a pair of giant sloths, a pair of armadillos, a big rodent, and a terror bird, the former on the North American side and the latter on the South America; a globe is in the top left

Research and Collections

10-million-year-long Mammal Layover in Mexico Primed the Pump for the Great American Biotic Interchange Between North and South America

Published in the journal Science, a new study by NHM researchers shows that Mexico acted as a biodiversity "holding pen" for 10 million years ahead of the Great American Biotic Interchange that opened the floodgates between North and South America 2.8 million years ago.

Bloomberg Connects Header Image depicting the screen of a guide user

Digital Guide to La Brea Tar Pits

Our new audio tour lets everyone explore the La Brea Tar Pits' history and research, even while the museum is closed, with Bloomberg Connects' free digital guide.

Smilodon, Saber-Tooths, and Tigers…Oh My!

How Smilodon became saber-toothed tigers—and why they're really saber-toothed cats

Extinction and Survival at La Brea Tar Pits

Groundbreaking new research from La Brea Tar Pits curators finds that in California, 13,000 years ago, huge Ice Age mammals that had roamed the landscape for many millennia, suddenly ceased to exist. The cause? Humans, catastrophic fires, and an ecosystem made vulnerable by climate change.

Life reconstruction of fire at La Brea Tar Pits during the Pleistocene as bison are stuck during a wildfire

Why Did the Ice Age Titans Go Extinct?

A new study reveals that human impacts in an environment made fire-prone by climate change and herbivore loss led to large mammals vanishing from southern California.

Playing With Fire: Extinction and Survival at La Brea Tar Pits

In California, 13,000 years ago, huge Ice Age mammals that had roamed the landscape for many millennia, suddenly ceased to exist. The cause? Humans, catastrophic fires, and an ecosystem made vulnerable by climate change.

Geek Out in an Ice Age Daydream

Tar AR brings Ice Age animals back to L.A.

Saber-toothed Cat 101

La Brea Tar Pits presents everything you need to know about saber-toothed cats.

Watch Video

Suiting Up for Smilodon

An exhilaratingly lifelike recreation of a saber-toothed cat will thrill — and teach — audiences in Ice Age Encounters.

Mammoths, meet the metaverse

Paleontologists from La Brea Tar Pits develop a whole herd of scientifically accurate extinct animals to use in AR and VR