Atlas bear
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The Atlas bear or North African bear<ref name="Bryden1899">Template:Cite book</ref> (Ursus arctos crowtheri) is an extinct population (or populations) of brown bears native to North Africa until their extinction in 1870.
Range
The Atlas bear was Africa's only native bear sub-species that survived into modern times. Once inhabiting the Atlas Mountains and neighbouring areas, from Morocco to Libya, the animal is now thought to be extinct.<ref name="Calvignac et al. 2009">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Herodotus, who traveled to North Africa, describes their existence near Lake Tritonis (Chott Melghir and Chott ldjerid) as follows:
"The country of the Maxyes, and the rest of the western part of Libya, is much fuller of wild beasts and more wooded than the country of the nomads...is exceedingly mountainous and wooded and full of wild beasts. In that country are the huge snakes and the lions, and the elephants and bears and asps"<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Description
The Atlas bear was brownish-black in colour and lacked a white mark on the muzzle. The fur was Template:Nowrap long and was reddish-orange on the underparts.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The muzzle and claws were shorter than those of the American black bear, though it was stouter and thicker in body. The Atlas bear was said to have been Template:Convert long and weighed up to Template:Nowrap.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref>
Genetics
A mitochondrial DNA study of bones of Atlas bears ranging in age from 10,000 to 1280 years Before Present found that the specimens belonged to two distinct clades: one, referred to as "Clade V", was indistinguishable from brown bears found in the Iberian Peninsula, while the other, "Clade VI", was highly distinct from all other brown bears, either closely related to the polar bear and Alaskan brown bears or outside the group that contains all other brown bear mitochondrial lineages.<ref name="Calvignac, S. 2008">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Atlas bears do not appear to be closely related to Middle Eastern brown bear populations, despite geographic proximity, which suggests that the colonization of North Africa by brown bears was an event of considerable antiquity.<ref name="Calvignac et al. 2009" />
Ecology
The Atlas bear's ecology is presumed to be similar to that of the other brown bears. The Atlas bear was said to have been mostly herbivorous, feeding on roots, acorns and nuts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, since most bears today are omnivores, the Atlas bear is believed to have been able to eat meat as well.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> It was believed that, if it did eat meat, it probably ate small mammals as well as carrion while scavenging.<ref name=":0" /> Sympatric predators included the Barbary leopard and Barbary lion.<ref name="Bryden1899"/><ref name="NowellJackson1996">Template:Cite book</ref>
Extinction
The Atlas bear became extinct shortly after modern firearms were developed. Over-hunting may have contributed to their decline. The Atlas bear finally became extinct in the late 19th century; the last one recorded to be killed by hunters was in 1870 in the Tetouan Mountains in northern Morocco.<ref name=":0"/> Human activity can definitely be said to have played a large role in causing the extinction of the Atlas bear.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The alleged 19th century accounts have been questioned by various zoologists such as Ángel Cabrera and Michel Thévenot,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> who emphasized the complete lack of physical evidence and bear tracks found.
See also
References
- Template:Cite book
- "Bears of the Last Frontier, Hour One: City of Bears: Brown Bear Fact Sheet". www.pbs.org. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
- "The Animal Files". www.theanimalfiles.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
- "Brown Bear- Ursus Arctos". The National Park Service. www.nps.gov. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.