Sabrina woke up when she felt the first rays of the sun's light touch her eyes. Blinking for a moment, she quickly sought out shade. Her cub, disturbed by her movements, growled, before moving to suckle her.

The cub was lucky that Sabrina could still make some milk. Hunger had ravaged her mother's body, as well as her own. If they had not been rescued by the humans, they would likely have died within a week, succumbing to the ravages of hunger.

Then, a growl filled the air. Turning to the opposite exhibit, mother and cub watched as the male moved out of his shelter and began his morning routine. He began pulling his claws through an odd-looking tree trunk, surrounded by strange pieces of fiber and thatch. It was his way of marking his territory, which was, admittedly, very small. Then, he turned his attention to Sabrina.

She quickly moved to shield her cub; the male would likely try to eliminate her so that Sabrina would go into heat again. Unknown to her, though, the male had no intention of mating with her, at least not yet. He could see how badly hunger had hit her. In his mind, he realized that she would be unlikely to carry any young from a mating to term. So, for now, he was content to wait for her to regain her strength.

Just then, the cats her a loud thump. Turning toward the opposite end of their exhibit, they noticed that large pieces of meat had been deposited on the ground. The big cats moved into to feast on the free meal, with Sabrina's cub moving into to join her mother. Despite her hunger, Sabrina had managed to keep the cub fed long enough that she was ready to move onto solid foods. Given time, she might grow up to be a great hunter of her own.

At least, if the land they had lived in hadn't changed so much.

Then, a loud squawk resounded through the air. Turning toward it, the park's saber-teeth found themselves staring at Phil, the Phorusrhacos. They're reactions were ones of surprise, in contrast to Phil's fear. The terror bird, attracted by the jeep that had brought the meat to the great cats, beat a hasty retreat, hoping to find the safety of his exhibit. On his way back, here veered out of the way of one of the scaly giants.

This giant was something Phil had never seen before, and it baffled him in every way imaginable. He had never seen such large, scaly creatures before, not even ones as big as the Smilodon. They were just as alien to him as they were to the cats.

The cats, though, were a familiar foe. They'd been his kind's enemies for millions of years. Almost four million years before he was born, the Americas had fused once again, paving the way for the beasts of the north and south to meet. It had been a hard move, and many had not survived. Gone were the strange mammals that had fought with Phil's ancestors for food. Gone were the little elephant-like things, replaced by true proboscideans. So many things had gone away, yet so many were still here.

Ironically, Phil's kind had actually benefitted from the Great American Interchange, doing amazingly well. Of the great predators of South America, only the terror birds gone North. They'd done quite well, carving out a home in the Southern part of the continent. With no fast moving mammals to take their place, the terror birds had been able to feed off of horses and ancient relatives of the pronghorn. They would only disappear once the American cheetah arrived to fight for their niche. This, coupled with the arrival of the last ice age, had spelled the end for his kind.

For Sabrina's kind, though, it was a much more brutal process. At first, they had done well, forcing their foes into extinction. But then the land started changing again. Grass, which had been their ally for so long, started vanishing, being replaced by forests. Many of their prey ahd not survived the change, unable to adapt to the loss of food. What remained was either too swift or too tough to hunt.

Among the few animals they could have still hunted were the great tusked beasts. These beasts were browsers and could survive the change. Yet there were very few where she lived, and none had had any calves. If they had, and she had managed to best one, it would have fed her for weeks. Now, though, that simply wasn't an option.

A low grumbling turned the cats' attention back to the edge of the enclosure. Passing by was a strange creature: a large, heavily armored reptile. Its body reminded them of a glyptodont, but its tail ended in sharp plates, while it head was distinctly lizard-like. The creature showed no fear toward them, and why should it. After all, it was beyond their ability to hunt. Even if they could reach it, it was too well defended to try attacking.

Yet, despite all the changes they had had to endure, the cats were happy. Here, they had plenty to eat, and no competitors to worry about. While their current territories were small, in time, they might find a way to expand them.

Yes, this new future was strange, but it was still one the cats were willing to live in.

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