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Post by brobear on Nov 11, 2018 18:06:40 GMT -5
Historical is seldom scientific. Here are the words of an early American pioneer: Man Meets Grizzly by Young and Beyers' "They talk of bears," said Preston, fixed upon mine, with still regard, his large gray eyes; "of bears in Arkansas. I was bred to the bear as well as to the 'bar', and through ten seasons hunted on the Red River with men of the woods, 'bar' hunters of the border, who have all the forest wisdom. I have read, too, what has been written by the great hunters, but none of them knew the bear of California. He is the sovereign of beasts; in strength, weight, endurance, and sagacity superior to the lion, and I doubt not has formerly destroyed some great and powerful tribe of lions on this continent."
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Post by brobear on Nov 11, 2018 18:09:51 GMT -5
La Brea tar pit casualties: nhm.org/site/research-collections/rancho-la-brea/about-rlb-mammals
Mammals at Rancho La Brea Approximately 90% of the mammals excavated at Rancho La Brea are carnivores. This proportion is due to the nature of the asphalt seeps that form a carnivore trap. When a large herbivore became mired in the asphalt, it attracted predators and scavengers to the site and these in turn became trapped. Large carnivores are represented by the dog family (Canidae), the cat family (Felidae) and the bear family (Ursidae). The most common large carnivore is the dire wolf (Canis dirus). Small carnivores include weasels, badgers, and skunks (Mustelidae), the elusive ringtail and raccoon (Procyonidae). Other groups of animals include shrews, moles, bats, giant ground sloths, rabbits, rodents, mastodons, mammoths, horses, tapirs, peccaries, camels, deer, pronghorns, and bison. The ancient bison (Bison antiquus) is the most common large herbivore and is represented by at least 300 individuals, many of them young.
Canidae Five species from the dog family are presently known from Rancho La Brea. The extinct dire wolf (Canis dirus), represented by over 200,000 specimens (~ 4,000+ individuals), is by far the most common large animal recovered. Dire wolves were widespread throughout North America during the Pleistocene and their remains have been found at many fossil localities. It appears that the Californian specimens were slightly smaller than the ones in the central and eastern United States. The timber wolf (C. lupus), coyote (C. latrans), domestic dog (C. familiaris), and the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are still living today although the timber wolf no longer lives in Southern California.
Felidae Six species of the cat family are known from Rancho La Brea. They comprise two main groups, the machairodonts (saber-toothed cats) and the true cats. The extinct saber-toothed cat (Smilodon fatalis) is probably the most well known and is California's state fossil. At least 2,000 individuals of Smilodon are represented by over 130,000 specimens. The distantly related scimitar cat (Homotherium serum) is very rare and known only from a few teeth and several metapodials. The American lion (Panthera atrox) is the most common of the true cats with about 80 individuals recovered, two-thirds of which are males. Other cats include the puma (Felis concolor), the lynx (F. rufus), the jaguar (F. onca), and a domestic cat. It is possible that the American cheetah (Miracinonyx inexpectatus) was also in the area at the end of the Pleistocene although no specimen has yet been identified from Rancho La Brea.
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.
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Post by brobear on Nov 11, 2018 18:10:44 GMT -5
Post by brobear on Oct 27, 2018 at 6:13am Above post: Notice that bears were less often trapped in the tar pit than were members of the cat family and the dog family. Although some paleontologists consider this as evidence of their rarity, others ( including myself ) consider this as evidence of their superiority of intelligence. Notice also, fewer American lions were trapped than the other big cats. Pathera atrox was ( probably ) the smartest cat ever.
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Post by brobear on Dec 9, 2018 6:03:38 GMT -5
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/624289 Two Fossil Grizzly Bears from the Pleistocene of Oklahoma J. Willis Stovall, and C. Stuart Johnston Two fossil grizzly bears, here described from the Pleistocene of Oklahoma, are the only fossil grizzlies that have been reported from the Great Plains region. A brief survey of the literature is given, and the inadequacy of Merriam's classification is pointed out.
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Post by brobear on Jan 3, 2019 12:20:50 GMT -5
www.bearbiology.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/McLellan_Reiner_Vol_9.pdf Brown Bears The brown bear is believed to have evolved from U. etruscus in Asia. The oldest fossils were found in China from about 0.5 MYBP (Kurten 1968) and there has been a continuous record of U. arctos in Asia since then. U. arctos entered Europe about 0.25 MYBP and North Africa shortly after. Pleistocene remains of U. arctos are common in Great Britain and they may have contributed to the extirpation of the cave bear there. U. arctos apparently entered Alaska about 100,000 YBP but did not move south until the late Wisconsin, about 13,000 YBP. Kurten and Anderson (1980) suggest the possibility of 2 independent migrations; narrow-skulled bears from northern Siberia through central Alaska to the rest of the continent becoming U. a. horribilis, and a southern migration of broadskulled bears from Kamchatka to the Alaskan peninsula becoming U. a. middendorffi. Fossils of brown bears in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky (Guilday 1968), and Labrador (Spiess and Cox 1976) indicate they were once found much farther east than historical records show. Guilday (1968) suggested that immediately after the glacial retreat, a relatively boreal, parkland coniferous forest spread across the central and southern portions of the continent and with it, several western species, including brown bears.
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 12, 2019 11:10:04 GMT -5
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Post by brobear on Jan 20, 2019 7:24:03 GMT -5
This picture was posted on wildfact.com/forum/ by Peter. It tell's us that the Pleistocene grizzly not only had both the grey wolf and the dire wolf to contend with, but also huge dholes.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 7:45:43 GMT -5
I beleive animals were larger these days as there was more oxygen in the atmosphere.
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Post by brobear on Jan 20, 2019 9:36:30 GMT -5
I beleive animals were larger these days as there was more oxygen in the atmosphere. Possibly. But I am thinking that with humans having less impact on wildlife, natural competition produced larger animals = mega fauna.
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Post by brobear on Jan 22, 2019 13:08:14 GMT -5
Chasmaporthetes or running hyena was a genus of hyenas that lived in Eurasia, North America, and Africa during the Pliocene-Pleistocene. It was one of the so-called "dog-like" hyenas that had evolved into slender-limbed, cursorial hunters like modern canids. They were about 1,3 m in length and 90 cm in height. by Julie Selan
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 22, 2019 16:40:23 GMT -5
Do you think the Pleistocene brown bears usurped kills from this running hyena?
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Post by brobear on Jan 22, 2019 17:21:35 GMT -5
Do you think the Pleistocene brown bears usurped kills from this running hyena? IMO, the Pleistocene grizzly which likely averaged roughly 700 pounds ( mature male ) would displace grey wolves, dire wolves, and hyenas. He would also displace cougars, cheetahs, and jaguars. All of these routinely. Just as with the Amur brown bear and Amur tiger, the grizzly would on rare occassion, displace Smilodon, Homotherium, or Panthera atrox...( if the big cat is alone ). Note: Realistically, a big boar grizzly might have displaced Arctodus she-bears and subadults.
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Post by King Kodiak on Jan 23, 2019 4:22:17 GMT -5
Do you think the Pleistocene brown bears usurped kills from this running hyena? IMO, the Pleistocene grizzly which likely averaged roughly 700 pounds ( mature male ) would displace grey wolves, dire wolves, and hyenas. He would also displace cougars, cheetahs, and jaguars. All of these routinely. Just as with the Amur brown bear and Amur tiger, the grizzly would on rare occassion, displace Smilodon, Homotherium, or Panthera atrox...( if the big cat is alone ). Note: Realistically, a big boar grizzly might have displaced Arctodus she-bears and subadults. The Pleistocene grizzly was definatly an expert kleptoparasite, just like all.
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Post by brobear on Jan 31, 2019 17:08:33 GMT -5
A few contemporaries of the Pleistocene grizzly of North America.
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Post by brobear on Feb 20, 2019 11:23:21 GMT -5
Another thought: Kodiak bears in captivity have reached weights exceeding those of any polar bear ( wild or captive ). For this reason, I doubt that a one-ton Steppe bear or California grizzly is wishful thinking.
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 20, 2019 12:32:49 GMT -5
Another thought: Kodiak bears in captivity have reached weights exceeding those of any polar bear ( wild or captive ). For this reason, I doubt that a one-ton Steppe bear or California grizzly is wishful thinking. Definatly agree there.
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 8:14:24 GMT -5
If Pleistocene polar bears were living on an island where they probably rarely if ever saw a seal, feeding on whatever herbivores shared their domain, seasonal fish, as well as foraging vegetation, how then were they larger than modern polar bears who feed on the fattiest foods on earth? How could a richer diet cause them to down-size? Very good question brobear. We will have to research that one. I believe its because Ursus ( ? ) tyrannus was a grizzly.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2019 7:26:23 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/thread/954/general-evolution?page=2 "To survive in open habitat, a mammal must be able to defend itself from predators or be fast enough to escape them. Consequently, as the body size of some bear species increased, they probably occupied more open habitat for longer periods, and were able to increase the proportion of vegetation in the diet. Their larger size also made them better able to defend themselves from predators. As the diet became progressively more vegetative, there would have been continuing pressure for body size to increase so enough vegetation could be ingested and processed to substitute for a high quality diet of animal material. Larger body size also made it possible to travel more in search of patchy food resources and to store and carry more fat with which to survive during periods of seasonal or unpredictable food shortage. With increased body size and well-developed canines, some bears were able to kill ungulates and other mammals, defend carrion from competitors, and protect themselves from other predators. Through this unique combination of being able to be predators, scavengers, and herbivores, they were able to exploit several food bases."
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Post by brobear on Mar 10, 2019 5:15:30 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2019 8:10:53 GMT -5
Very good question brobear. We will have to research that one. I believe its because Ursus ( ? ) tyrannus was a grizzly. How true. The latest news said it might be a 400 pound brown bear or maybe (just me guessing) a huge brown bear which is related to a grizzly.
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