Indeed, similar megafauna were present in North America as well. The West Virginia state fossil is Megalonyx jeffersonii, a giant ground sloth present until the

Indeed, similar megafauna were present in North America as well. The West Virginia state fossil is Megalonyx jeffersonii, a giant ground sloth present until the end of the Pleistocene. They're estimated to have been 10 feet "tall" and to weight roughly a ton. Fossil bones were discovered in Haynes Cave, Monroe County near the present day Virginia border, and the species is named for Thomas Jefferson, who examined bones and authored the paper that identified this genus. (Though the history of exactly which bones he identified is slightly murky.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalonyx https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalonyx It seems likely that they were using these limestone caves for shelter, though it is also not uncommon for other Pleistocene fossils to be found and preserved in caves after washing in as sediment. I've never seen claw marks on cave walls quite large enough to attribute it to a ground sloth, but there are occasionally very large claw marks on cave walls... and I wouldn't want to be trapped in the dark with whatever creature left them behind.