Bear Evolution

[brotherbear]

The Cave Bear Story... About 10 million years ago there was a marked change in world climate, which started to become drier. In many areas the mighty forests that had existed for so many millions of years died out, and savannas, steppes, and deserts spread widely. During this process, many of those animals that were adapted for a life in the forests fared badly. but those that lived on the open plains - antelopes, hipparions, and many others - entered a golden age. 
Bears are generally forest-living animals, and so we lose sight of some of them for the next few million years. We do know that the last and largest of the ursavi struggled on for some time before becoming extinct. We also know that the great Indarctos bears, which had risen as an early side-branch from the ursavi, spread into North America. But the evolutionary line that was initiated by the Protursus of Can Llobateres excaped our search, and the Miocene epoch will have come to an end before we meet it again.   Reply