Help finding book (with Smilodons fighting on the cover)

[Hardcastle]

When I was a little kid, about 8-10 years old in I guess 1991-1993 or so, I used to repeatedly go to the town library and get out this big thick book about I think mostly pleistocene animals or something and on the front cover an orange smilodon was pinning down a grey big cat and driving it's saber into it's head, or maybe was about to, or something like that. They were huge and took up the whole cover with half their bodies not even fitting on it. It was a really cool book and I'd do anything to track it down again, but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere.
I dunno sometimes you guys are better at finding random stuff than me so just thought I'd put it out there.

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2022 11:27:45 GMT Hardcastle said:

When I was a little kid, about 8-10 years old in I guess 1991-1993 or so, I used to repeatedly go to the town library and get out this big thick book about I think mostly pleistocene animals or something and on the front cover an orange smilodon was pinning down a grey big cat and driving it's saber into it's head, or maybe was about to, or something like that. They were huge and took up the whole cover with half their bodies not even fitting on it. It was a really cool book and I'd do anything to track it down again, but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere.
I dunno sometimes you guys are better at finding random stuff than me so just thought I'd put it out there.

I only found two that kinda match your description

.

[Hardcastle]

Thanks but unfortunately no. This was always a crazy longshot. I think even on reddit it would be a longshot.

[Deleted]

Dec 30, 2022 19:08:01 GMT Hardcastle said:

Thanks but unfortunately no. This was always a crazy longshot. I think even on reddit it would be a longshot.

Speaking of Reddit, you should probably ask people on that anyways.

I’m sure someone would know.

[Hardcastle]

I've been banned on reddit so many times I can't even be bothered trying to join again. I have joined with intent to ask a question like this and they say "you need more posts before you can ask", so I post around a bit and without fail, for sure, get banned. Trying my best to be good btw.
Reddit and me just don't mesh for some reason.

[Deleted]

[Hardcastle]

Dec 30, 2022 22:14:57 GMT Bolushi said:

No... Later I'll draw what it looked like badly on mspaint.

[Hardcastle]

This was the basic idea but way cooler-

[Hardcastle]

The grey thing at the bottom almost looks like a dog for some reason, but it was a cat.

[Deleted]

Was it a children’s or adult book?

[Hardcastle]

Well it wasn't obviously a children's book like some. It wasn't in the children's section which was a totally different part of the library. I remember getting it from the exact same section where I would get Richard Perry's "World of the Jaguar" (which I have since tracked down and bought) and I recall the content inside being fairly wordy and dry, but at the same time I think it probably appealed more to children. It was pretty epic as far as the break down of obscure prehistoric animals and the artworks depicting them.

Note my childish art isn't doing it justice at all. That's just how the two cats were positioned on the front cover.

[Deleted]

Any of these look familiar?

[Deleted]

[Hardcastle]

No. And all those books are clearly post-2000 books. This book was from the early 90s or possibly 80s. The art wasn't computer graphics it was actual art. I know when you search all the books that come up are like that, like 2000s-y text books. It's frustrating.

[Deleted]

Attachments: