![]() ![]() Status at the end of the Pleistocene: Analysis of a new suite of radiocarbon dates obtained on giant short-faced bear bones confirms that these animals went extinct roughly 11,000 years ago and most likely co-existed with groups of humans from the Clovis culture (Schubert 2010). What year did the short-faced bear go extinct? The bones of two giant short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) were discovered in a White Pine County cave on National Forest Land in 1982. Want to learn more? Check out the Beringian Research Notes on the giant short-faced bear.Description. More evidence, including new short-faced bear bones found in Yukon will be needed to help solve this question. Some scientists have recently suggested that the short-faced bear was neither particularily long-limbed nor short-faced, and propose that they were omnivorous, like most bears are today. ![]() This model of the short-faced bear's hyper-carnivorous scavenging, however, is not universally accepted. The chemistry of short-faced bear fossil bones from Yukon and Alaska indicate a diet nearly completely composed of meat. Their large cheek teeth were probably effective at cracking long bones for their marrow and sharp fangs could deflesh the carcass. Rather than killing on their own, the short-faced bear would probably smell the scent of meat in the wind, follow it to the carcass, chase off the lions or wolves, and dine on the leftovers. This, combined with their long limbs, point to the short-faced bear as a solitary, wide-ranging scavenger of carcasses. The nasal opening is very large, suggesting they had a pronounced sense of smell. The cranium also provides some clues to short-faced bear behaviour. The limbs and feet of a short-faced bear could not support their large bodies for the rapid acceleration or sudden changes in direction necessary to take down a fleeing bison or horse. These limbs were adapted for efficient long-distance pacing, rather than the explosive acceleration and high speed pursuits typical of other large predators, like lions. A prominent feature of the short-faced bear is their remarkably long, thin limb bones and feet that supported a heavy torso. However, investigation of their fossil skeletons reveals a much different picture. Given its huge body stature, large molars and canine teeth, it is tempting to view them as menacing predators. There is some debate regarding the diets and behaviour of the ice age short-faced bear. Spectacled bears have short, broad faces like the ice aged short-faced bear but are nearly entirely herbivorous, preferring leaves, fruit and other vegetation.įront-view of the short-faced bear skeleton Their closest living relative is the spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus), which lives among the trees in the mountainous regions of western and northern South America. Given their huge size and taste for meat, the short-faced bear has a surprising evolutionary history. This is about one and a half times the size of a present-day Kodiak grizzly bear! ![]() They could have had a vertical reach of more than 4.3 metres. These bears were nearly 1.5 metres high when walking normally, but stood about 3.4 metres tall when on their hind legs. Ice age short-faced bears were the largest mammalian land carnivore to ever live in North America.
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