 Animal life consisted of "Glyptodon", saber-toothed cat, mastodon, short-faced bear, dire wolf, ground sloth, giant beaver, peccary, stag-moose and ancient bison.Lakes would have sturgeon, whitefish, pike, pickerel, and muskellunge.The ground around Syracuse Lake and Syracuse was first settled by the people of the Glacial Kame Culture who would leave behind artifacts and burial sites.