34 million years ago. South-Dakota. Its a turning of times. The Eocene epoch comes to an end and the Oligocene starts. Many animals are found in the badlands of America during this turnover. And many are predators. We start with a female Hoplophoneus. She looks a lot like a sabretooth cat, but she isn’t. She is part of a carnivoran lineage often called ‘false sabretooth cats’, due to their resemblence. About as large as a leopard, she is a fierce predator. Near the edge of the forest she has a small burrow she found empty, and now it’s a good place to raise her cups. Her time is spent finding food for herself and her cups and watching over her large territory. Today she moves her cups to the nearby lake so they can drink. It is always busy around the lake as all kinds of herbivores come to drink in the more open and dry environment. One of these are early horses. They’re called Mesohippus. They stand only 60 centimetre tall, only as large as a dog. Unlike modern horses, they feed on