I recently visited the Rancho La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles and was told the animals that died there actually starved or were attacked and that they were not sucked down into the tar. In the case of starvation, would the lack of nourishment affect the size and strength of the bones as it would in cases of long-term deprivation?
Mackenzie, 11, Phoenix, Arizona

Dr. dig responds:
The Rancho La Brea tar pits form one of the world’s most famous fossil sites. Here, for more than 40,000 years, asphalt has seeped from the ground and formed semi-solid, sticky pools. These pools—hidden under layers of leaves, dirt, and water—have acted as a form of flypaper, trapping many animals over the years. Scientists have recovered millions of bones from a whole range of Ice Age animals, including herbivores, carnivores, and fierce scavengers such as saber-toothed tigers. It seems that the trapped animals attracted the scavengers that themselves risked being trapped as they attacked their stuck prey. The animals that became trapped in the asphalt and were not killed by the scavengers would not have lasted very long without food and water. Long-term dietary deprivation will affect the size and strength of bones in growing animals and humans. But, I think you are right, these animals would probably not have lasted long enough to experience these changes.