Bears of the Pleistocene

[brotherbear]

The Cave Bear Story... Looking once more at the bear heads in profile, we may note a distinct difference in the shape of the muzzle. Compared to the length of the jaw, the nasal bridge in the cave bear is quite short so that the nasal opening tends to face upward rather than forward. It looks a little like the flattened nose of a pug dog, and, in fact, many restorations show the cave bear with a puglike face. I feel rather doubtful about this sort of restoration, for a retracted nasal bridge might also mean that the nose was well developed and movable. The nasal bones are actually very much shortened in animals provided with a trunk, like tapirs and elephants. Also, the cave bear does not have the underslung jaw of the pug. So I think the nose probably was not flat but quite long and protruding, and this is also the image seen in the art of Ice Age Man.  Reply