Callie is a Smilodon fatalis full body puppet built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for use in their Ice Age Encounters show at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.
Working with museum scientists to build the most realistic Smilodon possible, Callie has two puppeteers with a suit performer on all fours within the robust 75 pound suit and a remotely controlled animatronic head with neck movement, blinking and moving jaws for roaring. With the absence of pelt material in the fossil record, Callie's coat coloration was based on modern big cats. While the suit was built by the Creature Shop, its maintenance is handled by the museum.
Callie began performances at the Natural History Museum in 2010 before moving to the Tar Pits on September 12, 2012, which was promoted by having the beast prowl Wilshire Boulevard and make their way to the museum on foot.[1] In the Ice Age Encounters show, Callie is occasionally accompanied by a non-Henson built Smilodon cub marionette named Nibbles.
