The Region - News from July 25, 1986

Paleontologists found the nearly 30,000-year-old bones of a saber-toothed tiger at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits on the first day of public viewing of this summer’s fossil recovery program. Digging began at the historical treasure-trove in the Wilshire District in 1969. The public has been allowed in the last three years to observe the work from a perch 12 feet above the pits. “The significance of this site is that it allows us to recover all kinds of sediments and micro-fossils and allows us to reconstruct in depth the ecology of the area,” spokesman George Jefferson said.