|
Bears of the Pleistocene
|
nhm.org/site/sites/default/files/pdf/contrib_science/CS39.pdf
www.earthfacts.com/evolution-and-life/rancholabreatarpits/ Many of the carnivores are old friends of the modern forest and plain: foxes, badgers, skunks, weasels, mountain lions, lynx, black bears and grizzly bears. These have changed little, and if we had their entire carcasses to study we might find they differed from their modern counterparts only at the subspecies level. Exceeding the Great Cat in size was the Short-Faced Bear. On all four feet it stood a foot higher than the modern Grizzly Bear, and was more massively built than the Kodiak Bear. Its teeth suggest a more carnivorous way of life than any living bears. nhm.org/site/research-collections/rancho-la-brea/about-rlb-mammals Ursidae Three species of bear are known from Rancho La Brea. The extinct giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus), represented by 30 plus individuals, is both the largest and most common species recovered. Thus far, at least 700 elements have been identified. The short-faced bear had an extensive North American distribution ranging from the Yukon to Texas. Its closest living relative is the spectacled bear that lives in the Andes. Possibly the largest predator of the Ice Age, the male short-faced bear may have weighed up to 1,800 pounds and stood five feet at the shoulder. Sexual dimorphism is very evident with females being at least 25 percent smaller than the males. The black bear (Ursus americanus) and the grizzly bear (U. arctos) are restricted to the younger deposits and are rare. www.tarpits.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/return%20to%20the%20ice%20age.pdf blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2015/06/27/when-saber-toothed-cats-mammoths-and-dire-wolves-roamed-the-south-bay/ The short-faced bear was once the most plentiful bear in California, but the pug-nosed species did not survive into the modern era. On the other hand, the California grizzly bear was one of the few large mammals to survive the end of the Pleistocene Era. It is the very symbol of California, and is depicted on the state flag. However, this fierce predator feared no animal, nor did it fear settlers, who first observed the California grizzly in the mid-18th century. The bear’s fondness for large grazing animals such as sheep and cattle made it ursina non grata to farmers and ranchers, and, as civilization encroached upon the grizzly’s territory, they were gradually hunted out of existence. The last California grizzly bear reported hunted down in the state was killed in Tulare County in 1922, and no California grizzlies have been seen since one was spotted in Sequoia National Park in 1925. The extinction of these various species (other than the California grizzly and pronghorn antelope) has been attributed to the arrival of humans, perhaps on a land bridge across the Bering Strait, but it also may have been caused by climate and landform changes that made the area drier and less hospitable to them. |
| Users browsing this thread: |
| 6 Guest(s) |