In California’s Kern County there is a very small town called McKittrick. It has a few homes and a population of 115. This small town has a historic sign on Highway 58. This is what it reads:

The tar pits are 1/8th mile to the west of this sign. Park on the right side of the road and you find these tar seeps and pits. Tar is crude oil that seeps from the ground. As it is very sticky the animals can get trapped in the tar. Paleontological studies were done in 1900 and 1910. In 1926 Charles Sternberg, a notes paleontologist, found a Horse fossil in the tar pits. In 1928 A team of paleontologists from the California State University did a major dig study. The fossils from these digs are at Buena Vista Museum of natural History Bakersfield, Ca. West Kern Oil Museum Taft, Ca, and La Brea tar Pits Museum in Los Angeles.

Many herbivores were found in this area. Mammoths, mastodons, Camels, Giant ground sloth, and Bison. Two main predators, saber-tooth cats, and dire wolves were common in this area.
Along with these animals the fossils of many birds are found in these tar pits.

What happened to all these animals? Almost all have become extinct. The reason behind their extinction was a new species that was introduced in this area, the deadliest predator of them all. Humans hunted the large herbivores, when the herbivores were gone the predators disappeared with the lack of food.

Timestamp
0:00-0:20 Intro
0:21-0:43 McKittrick tar pits
0:44-1:28 Animals trapped in tar pits
1:29-2:02 Tar Pit fossils
2:03-2:36 The reason behind animal extinction
2:37-2:57 End Screen

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