Scientists have unearthed what they believe are the fossils of the largest-ever-known bear that might have stood at 11 feet tall and lived between two million to 500,000 years ago.
The fossils of the giant and the most powerful land carnivore of its time were unearthed during the construction of a hospital in La Plata City, Argentina. Scientists who examined the remains believe they are of a South American giant short-faced bear, called Arctotherium angustidens, the earliest and largest member of its genus.
This titan, according to them, lived between 2 million to 500,000 years ago, with its closest living relative being the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) of South America, LiveScience reported.
Based on measurements of the fossil’s leg bones and equations used to estimate body mass, the researchers said the bear would have stood at least 11 feet tall on its hind legs and would have weighed between 1,588 and 1,749 kg.
In comparison, “the largest record for a living bear is a male polar bear that obtained the weight of about 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg),” said Leopoldo Soibelzon, a palaeontologist at the La Plata Museum.
“During its time, this bear was the largest and most powerful land predator in the world,” said study co-author Blaine Schubert, a palaeontologist at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. “It’s always extremely exciting to find something that’s the largest of its class — and not just a little bit larger, but quite a bit larger.”
Although this bear probably had an omnivorous diet, flesh likely dominated. Megafauna or large creatures likely played an important role in what it ate, they said.