Arctodus: The “Short-Faced Bear” is Misunderstood.

Larger than a grizzly bear, polar bear, or even cave bear, The giant Tremarctines such as Arctodus Simus and Arctotherium (usually just called the “short-faced bear”) are usually seen as bloodthirsty Behemoths. But what were these Prehistoric Bears really like?
If you want to learn more, then PBS Eons made a great video about the Tremarctinae (the taxonomic family of short-faced bears) as a whole: • The Mystery Behind the...
Wikipedia Articles for the animals if you want to learn more about them:
Tremarctinae (general) : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremarc...
Short-faced bear: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-f...
ARCTOTHERIUM: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctoth...
Spectacled Bear: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectac...
(Non royalty free) Videos used:
Note: All videos should presumably fall under fair use, as not only is a small fraction of the video used, but my video and the means I use these videos falls under education.
Excavation Video: • 180 mln-year-old dinos...
Explosion Video: • Free Green Screen Expl...
Math equations videos: • Video
Always Sunny clip: • It's Always Sunny In P...
Sources:
www.nationalgeographic.com/sc...
www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/s...
www.wired.com/2011/02/demytho...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/...

[@burnttoast26]

"It was a normal omnivore, sorry to disappoint" *I'm not disappointed by a freaking horse-sized bear*

[@iliketurtles5682]

Hey there still is horse sized bears lol so your in luck if u want to see one! Polar bear. Grizzly bear.

[@sinbad5471]

@@iliketurtles5682 but those bears aren’t as big as draft horses

[@matthewj.sanchez2425]

@carlo er is

[@trabistheidio1095]

Horse sized bears today are actually pretty common, just because these were as TALL as a horse doesn't mean they were as light as one. Keep in mind overall size isn't just determined by height, by that logic Giraffes would be bigger than Whales. What I'm trying to say is, these bears were actually twice the size of the average horse, but were only about as tall as them because of their robust body plan.

[@rubengonzalez750]

@@sinbad5471 there are huge bears out there.

[@christiancinnabars1402]

*An upscaled bear ends up likely being a normal bear, just bigger* Paleontologists: 👁👄👁

[@thisusernamesucks5373]

@Otosj van Tolerbok it's a joke bruh

[@Tarbtano]

Final conclusion? "Hmm yess, this bear is shaped like bear."

[@fiddleriddlediddlediddle]

Grizzly bear: *is normal bear.* People: "WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!" Short-faced bear: *is normal bear* People: "Lame."

[@user-mp8wy8lp4y]

@Mike Pretty sure the hell pigs were extinct by the time this thing existed

[@hollybyrd6186]

It was 4 meters tall, I'd still mess myself if I saw one.

[@Nameandaddresswithheld]

Bears are scary enough as it is. They’re apex omnivores. The bear will eat whatever it wants. If you get in it’s way, it’ll eat you too

[@ultrademigod]

Unless you eat it first.

[@papakurt4162]

@@ultrademigod You ever wonder why bears don't live in Florida? Two words: Florida. Man.

[@sparxy3487]

iit cant eat me if i eat myself

[@bkjeong4302]

@@papakurt4162 Florida does have bears (black bears, and prior to human colonization Arctodus plus the Florida spectacled bear)

[@papakurt4162]

@@bkjeong4302 OK but have you ever seen a bear in Florida? Don't answer that because I know you haven't. Clearly this is indeed fake news, you're trying brainwash me into feeding my children to the devil(Sheen Esteves) and I will not stand for this libtard rhetoric. Now if you need me I am going to have a wonderful dinner with my wife(who isn't a 40 year old man wearing a tin foil Alex Jones mask.) Bathsalts rule, I swear I'm not gay. Isreal ⛴⛴⛴

[@onigojira]

I do want to note that when bears chase prey, the animals they go after don't generally zig zag. They go after elk, moose, etc. Not little gazelle or rabbits. Their prey items are hefty animals that rely on raw speed, strength, and endurance. Unfortunately for them, the bear is ideal for taking down just that kind of prey. Also, these animals are more likely to stand their ground and fight. Which bears are also very well designed for. You kind of gloss over the idea of the bear being good at running down prey but it seems to me that bears are ridiculously good at it. They just don't seem compelled to do it very often. Probably because foraging and fishing, especially up in Alaska, tends to be so much easier than taking on other mega fauna.

[@kennethsatria6607]

Apparently there's been documentation of them hunting deer too. They might be fast enough for ambush, not a prolonged chase.

[@meso07]

do bears hunt moose on the regular or do they only do it when desperate? Because it seems like a big risk to tackle a moose, even for a bear.

[@abrahamthebewildered1448]

Bah! Poppycock. I've seen many a bears target lithe, skinny jean-wearing prey. Yes, yes, I'm immature.

[@meso07]

@@abrahamthebewildered1448 what?

[@victory8928]

@@meso07 look its eating a people

[@grubalaboocreosote4774]

I never understood why they couldn’t just be feeding on naturally larger and more plentiful species of fish. Glacial melt meant way more water everywhere, which means way more fish.

[@Jason918114]

Fish ain't easy to catch. Grizzlies only feast on fish during the salmon run once a year. Semi-aquatic polar bears rarely feed on fish. Bottom line is, bears are great at foraging and scavenging not fishing.

[@grubalaboocreosote4774]

@@Jason918114 that’s fair, however, the glacial waters I’m talking about would’ve been home to species almost identical to running salmon and large trout, making it a likely food source for such a large animal. Based on what the video said about the protein consumption not reflecting the whole species, I bet they ate a TON of berries and other flora. Black-bears around here dine almost exclusively on berries for a big portion of the year. Edit: Unless berries didn’t exist then here, I don’t know anything about the vegetal fossil record. Edit: Scrap ALL that, just did more research. They had too much competition for fish, and likely followed massive roaming herds of mega(?)fauna just picking up the dead as it went.

[@rotciv557]

@@grubalaboocreosote4774 now I'm imagining a bunch of prehistoric bears following behind a herd of prehistoric bison while ringing bells and shouting "Bring out 'yer dead!"

[@grubalaboocreosote4774]

@@rotciv557 I need this animated like We Bare bears

[@krkrbbr]

more water doesn't equal to more fish, it doesn't even correlate

[@treyfinley6733]

There really isn’t much to be disappointed in here, if you were to go back in time, you would still be able to film this magnificent animal in pursuit or ambush hunt, just as you could film any grizzly today, while also, you could film the more graceful elements also present in modern bears. If anything, this animal has become more interesting if anything

[@fartoocritical9409]

Budget museum: The short-faced Bear was a scavenger who used its size effectively. Rafiki: NOPE! Wrong again!

[@prehistoriccreature1800]

It's true lmao

[@rafiki4191]

True

[@gushutchinson8758]

I had a lot invested in THIS bear?! WTF? IT'S A BLOODY JESUS BEAR??0) ...so it DID EXIST ? OR NOT?. it was likely a big stroppy Kevin...? keegan? A BLOODY cwvav

[@fellipedasilva99]

It most definitely opportunistically scavenged tho like all bears…

[@wrightii5340]

@@gushutchinson8758 did you have a stroke

[@jeffreygao3956]

Actually, Arctodus being an oversized spectacled bear makes a lot of sense; The ending is hardly anti-climactic.

[@fellipedasilva99]

An oversized spectacled bear that behaved more like a brown bear but yeah…

[@trekkintexan5160]

There's always a "well actually" guy

[@fellipedasilva99]

@n/a They mostly don’t, they fill in completely different niches the two species…

[@jjt1881]

@@fellipedasilva99 Yes, that's exactly what I thought. Its behavior was completely different from a Polar Bear.

[@infamuscab6723]

“Omg bro” 🤦‍♂️

[@ripleyandweeds1288]

Here's the thing: bears DO chase after prey and they are pretty fast for the prey they go after, which would (for alaska) be elk and other larger bulkier animals that aren't capable of making nimble sharp turns like a rabbit would. If we're to assume that Arctodus shared a niche in its habitat similar to the ones modern bears fill then it would have been just as capable of short distance ambush pursuit as the bears of today. To anybody interested in biology and evolution the idea of a prehistoric bear being an omnivore that lived a life similar to the bears we see today isn't really a big let down, but the fact you brush off the idea that it was also probably capable of active hunting is the truly disappointing part.

[@petrfedor1851]

The scavenging part seems reasonable to me as well. Modern bears after all ocasionaly steal kills from smaller predators. Obviously they were not specialised for such a diet.

[@harper1587]

True lol, maybe instead of just ditching away some ideas just blend them together, and then we have an oversized bear Wich is not disappointing because is still an oversized bear

[@ubi_ezis]

This channel is so underrated

[@stephaninaa]

TRUE

[@mucanan]

It's starting to blow up

[@jackplant7252]

Saying "they were tall enough to look someone in the eyes while standing on all fours" was effective as hell for getting me to visualize the size of this guy

[@A_Box]

Still a bit nightmarish to have a huge bear roaming around your camp. Imagine running into bear cubs...

[@dav9104]

You know how some people keep bears as pets? I wonder if someone kept Arctodus as a pet. Would have been quite q sight.

[@beastmaster0934]

@@dav9104 You could probably ride one of those things.

[@kennethsatria6607]

@@dav9104 It doesn't usually end well, and aside from actual rescued unable to live wild bears it should not be practiced. And its also very difficult with how demanding their food needs are.

[@titaniauranus]

@@dav9104 Haha you can't pet Arctodus the bear pets you

[@stephaninaa]

NOT A NIGHTMARE WHEN I CAN 1 SHOT THEM WITH A GUN

[@Tarbtano]

Honestly I use this animal as a case study for overthinking things. Occam's razor is a process a lot of people could stand to think on more often. If the skeleton looks almost exactly like a scaled up version of a spectacled bear, this animal doesn't live or interact all that much different from its smaller relative.

[@topiheimola69]

Can’t imagine it living in trees or supporting itself by eating 95% plants though.

[@Tarbtano]

@@topiheimola69 Living in trees? Not likely. Though it certainly could climb as a cub, it probably didn't as an adult much like brown bears almost never climb as adults. Living largely off of plants however is entirely possible as much larger herbivores exist. I'm not saying it did, at least not entirely as diets would probably vary quite heavily individual to individual and region by region. I'm more making note than many adaptations that were written off as apparent ones for carnivory work just as good for being an omnivore and herbivore. Spectacled bears are largely herbivorous but they certainly don't turn away from animal protein if they get the chance to scavenge or there happens to be a target of opportunity they can hunt. They live in a relatively restricted range today, so I would suspect if the spectacled bear lived over a larger region their diet would not be significantly different than what we see in other generalist bears like the black bear and brown bear. Some regions might have individuals that dine on a lot of animal protein, others might have regions that are almost strictly herbivorous, with most in between.

[@michaeleager4635]

Occam's razor would suggest the size difference would be explained by occupying a different ecological niche

[@Tarbtano]

@@michaeleager4635 not necessarily. And certainly not necessarily implying drastically different diets. After all different populations of brown bears and black bears across both the Old World and New world, in the same sort of environments Arctodus lived in, all have dietary overlap as generalist on horse that'll eat pretty much anything they can get their paws on. The folly here was failing to look at the closest living relative and seeing if it's physical traits beyond size drastically differed. They don't. The skeletons of this ice age giant and it's modern-day relative are virtually identical beyond size. An amiable comparison would be to compare the dietary preferences and food sources between two different populations of brown bear that drastically differ in size and see if there would be noticeable differences. More often than not there won't be. So instead of seeing that the short face and long legs that aren't actually all that distinct really didn't change the Bear's behavior from what is the norm of bears, no ended up being decades of rapid hole spiraling speculation that didn't hold up.

[@Tarbtano]

@@michaeleager4635 born to give an example within another genus, both a tiger and leopard can be drastically different sizes. Some tigers can weigh over 500 lb whereas some leopards can be as lean as 60. And you have to spite the two eating different animals, obviously on account of size and location, the size difference doesn't change the fact both of them are almost pure carnivores. The same could be said of how different populations of brown bear can drastically differ in size and get all of them are omnivores.

[@erichtomanek4739]

Might as well call this teddy, The Mega Bear. You could have expanded on the bear's behavior of cart wheeling and somersaulting across the long grass plains.

[@Karmanya779]

:D

[@denizen9998]

I figured the second hypothesis was submitted by Jack Horner.

[@Qbliviens]

You are a scavenger! And you are a scavanger! Everyone is a scavanger!

[@Dingomush]

I feel that the plate showing the bear with the human skeleton on the right hand side for scale would benefit by someone sketching in a pile of crap under the skeleton. Like he just saw the bear and he knows he’s done for………just a thought.

[@doratheexploder286]

narrator needs to check his sources. Polar bears grow way bigger than 300-350kg. The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960. This specimen, when mounted, stood 3.39 m (11 ft 1 in) tall on its hindlegs. The shoulder height of an adult polar bear is 122 to 160 cm (4 ft 0 in to 5 ft 3 in).

[@ewokwarrior2656]

Just one or a few? Compared to a general population?

[@christiancinnabars1402]

He never said polar bears weigh only up to 350 kg. The exact numbers shown in the video are 350 - 700 kg, where 350 kg is the _lowest_ end of the scale. The polar bear you mention was a high outlier; though I guess he could have then made it the higher end of the scale(300 - 1,000 kg in this case) to no detriment. And additionally, some estimates for Arctodus’s weight do reach over 1,000 kg(and considering ~800 kg is the standard estimate for them, 1,000+ kg is definitely within realms of possibility), so the point he was getting across is still correct. He just made both sides of the comparison too small.

[@maxjohnson1758]

Ever been to the zoo? Polar bears are BIG. If a polar bear is 4' tall at the shoulder and the short faced bear was 6' tall, that makes it twice as large as a polar bear (no, not 50% larger, think cubic law). Now imagine that thing slowly walking right at you... .

[@tylerrobbins8311]

@Nik Liwanag grolar bears are even bigger and I think if. polar beats keep moving south to get more food then we'll see them get around 800kg more often. Peopke forget Polar bears are aquatic mammals and eat freaking belugas!

[@tylerrobbins8311]

@Nik Liwanag yeah polar bear actively hunt everything. It's crazy how dangerous they are yet seem to not be a threat to people in the artic.

[@FrogInShorts]

I always thought the omnivore aspects of bears is kind of what makes them cooler than other predators of their caliber. Like the bear doesn't need to eat you to survive, but he still will eat you, cause bears are beasts and take what they can get.

[@colinsmith1288]

All bears are bad asses,is just the degree how bad ass they are.

[@rotciv557]

And then there's the Panda...

[@colinsmith1288]

@@rotciv557 Yes l saw A panda today for the first time in my life at Edinburgh zoo in the uk. The giant panda is a sight to behold.Beautiful creatures but they have same big ass teeth.

[@yoboibeerus1387]

Thank you for applying the sources, its very useful. The largest skull Arctodus simus had in Yukon was 521 mm, and it was the largest skull of any bear. Here is a quote from the book : - "corresponding measurements A. Yukonense are 521 mm (20.5 inches) and 324 mm, the breadth being proportionally greater in Yukon's skull." A giant beast. I do think with that great size it could definitely hunt any large Ancient Bison alone. Keep it up friend!

[@LoisoPondohva]

9.8% longer than the biggest known skull of an extant bear.

[@Svensk7119]

I have never been satisfied by the "hyper-scavenger" angle, especially since the early forms of this bear, that is the antecedents that were smaller, were considered obvious predators. Thanks for the double debunk at the end. They were bears. Therefore they would've scavenged, fished, herbivore-d, and predate-d as the opportunity arose. Great video!

[@permanentvisitor2460]

You should add a join option. I'd happily support your work. I love it.

[@Limrasson]

MY headcanon for Dire Bears is that they fucking love hot-springs.

[@BamBamBigelow..]

This channel is a gem, glad I found it

[@TheKingTVlmao_SUCK_MY_WEENIE]

man I really love your channel so much, hope theres many more to come

[@DriftingStudent]

You make good videos bro I appreciate all the work you put into them 🙏🏻

[@dav9104]

Congrats on 1k subscribers!

[@an0rangutan]

Because of Zoo Tycoon 2's depiction of the Short Faced bear, I actually always assumed it was just a casual giant omnivore, like other bears, in that game like most bears if I recall, it has one of the most varied diets, I recall never actually giving them regular meat or dinosaur meat as food, but rather I would give them barries, insects and fish, as well as adding arctic cod that they could hunt and catch if they wanted to and funnily enough, they end up beiny one of the most passive carnivores in the game, rarely ever killing anything else in its exhibit (if you do shared community exhibits like I always did to save space) in fact, the rate at which a pair of shit face bears kill animals, those said animals breed and the next generation grows to adulthood faster than the bears can do anything about it, in game time it's like once a year that they might kill something. So while that's likely incorrect, as a kid that shaped ky perception that these guys were pretty chill and probably wouldn't actively hunt much if they had other stimulus and were able to easily find other means of nutrition and calories (which likely wouldn't happen much if ever in the wild unless they gorged on Salmon in a similar method to Alaskan Brown Bears)

[@sonorasgirl]

The dry, wry humor in all your videos is great

[@jjt1881]

I was not dissapointed. I learned a lot about this fascinating animal thanks to your video. And now it is even more interesting than before. Thank you!

[@pacho6821]

I always thought the same things about Arctodus since I saw a fossil of it and started studying and reading a little about this bear (bears are my favourite mammals). I'm very happy that there is somebody who share my ideas :)

[@thegreatbearwolf2915]

Being honest, i am not disappointed as a creature able to 'intimidate' big cats and wolf packs away from their prey is really awesome.

[@stiofanofirghil1916]

That's the beauty of science.. It can be wrong on a subject, but will instantly change that stance in the light of new evidence & discoveries..

[@quitequiet5281]

Excellent work!

[@rosie56727]

you got a gift, my guy. Great video

[@Harley-jt8cw]

you're my new favorite youtuber

[@jayvanslayer2787]

Great video. Finally someone comes forward and says the short faced bear is not a runner, so of course not a hunter. Any animal that big and heavy is not going to be a runner--to be a runner it would have to be built like a greyhound. The wolves were the great hunters, and the short faced followed the wolves.

[@Lightwish01]

*You must be commended for the amount of research that you have provided on this bear! Well done!* I must admit I had no idea that this bears lifestyle was as such.

[@itsbean6830]

“How big is the throne of lies this bear sits upon?” Most underrated line of the whole video.

[@JonJon-vg2nv]

Amazing video!

[@treydo1]

Ive gone to an exhibit that featured this bear. They had it's skeleton standing as it does in the photo shown in this video. They also had a replica stuffed one standing all its back legs. No photo can do justice to just how large these bears were. Standing beneath i had to tilt my head completely up. (Im 6ft) Standing on it's back 2 legs it's head stood taller then the back of the woolly mammoth next to it. Truly unbelievably large. After being stood next to one. I can confidently say, in no world where you at least didn't have 2 people with very high power rifles, could one ever beat this bear in a fight.

[@harrymills2770]

First you argue that they couldn't chase, because their bones wouldn't allow it. Then you go on to say their legs are pretty much the same as modern bears'. I'm not sure you really cleared anything up for me.

[@stevebroadbent5080]

Great video with an unusually honest approach. No one can ever pin down totally hard truths in this kind of science but you seem to have a rigorously logical approach to the available knowledge. The conclusion makes sense IMO.

[@noetic8]

I went to la Brea Tar pits museum in la not too long ago and let me just say I saw a life-size statue of what a short-faced bear would have looked like and it's just massive..... like two grizzly bears stacked on each other

[@brownjenkin2267]

I think the game Valheim gave me a permanent apprehension towards tar pits

[@thomaswade3072]

Not just a great museum on a budget, the BEST museum on a budget

[@MobTheKnight]

Bears are one of my favorite species ou there and I never got the hype for the fantasized version of this big boi. Just from knowing there was a even BIGGER bear than the Polar variant made me go all fanboy mode for it

[@bruisedbooty438]

Nice vid man, but do you know if there any accurate paleoart of the animal?

[@TheBudgetMuseum]

No, not really. Rarely do paleoartists actually go for the bulky, furry bear look, instead opting for a lean, inaccurate predatory creature. The only ones I could find that have the actual appearance down (or at least the appearance that I feel in my head is the most accurate) is this www.deviantart.com/deskridge/art/Short-faced-Bear-and-Saber-Toothed-Cat-308545226 and some of the illustrations from PBS Eons' video about short-faced bears.

[@richardtruckner2203]

Great analysis….. completely agree !

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

3:38 such a graceful animal despite its long legs. Thanks for the laugh

[@arctodussimus6198]

Your thumbnail is my favorite picture… 😎👍🏼👍🏼

[@jessehickman668]

Ending on a bleak note would be mentioning how/why it went extinct. I’ll wager a guess, it could be, the reason all large, small, medium, land and marine species go extinct. The spread of the creature so good at life it out life’s life… The dreaded Canadian Turkey. (Humans may have played a small roll in the turkeys meteoric rise to power and subsequent dictatorship, no doubt they were Canadian humans tho). Fun video tho. I enjoyed my time here

[@W1se0ldg33zer]

Competition from more aggressive bears - Grizzlies and black bears - which moved westward into their natural territories.

[@yourgodismean4526]

It wasn’t bleak, tho! I loved your remark at the end about science. A gentle reminder of sanity

[@silviu4248]

I want to say that the thumbnail of this video is super dope. It's like a painting , who would thought to paint such a hunting scene? Also , I like to imagine that I'm on a field alone , on a bright day with a clear sky , and seeing 300 meters away these 2 prehistoric giants "dancing" together , tf am I writing rn?

[@silviu4248]

Lol I just finished watching the video , and to my sadness that epic fight scene may not have been possible ... but hey , it's also cool to know that the short-faced bear was more like a normal bear , not a hyper-carnivore beast , because if you think about it , ancient animals and their modern succesors do the same stuff , so they would be anatomically similar.

[@Kakunkeittaja]

good presentation

[@MWK1995]

A very cool take on the subject, and one that might be more accurate.. Do you think the Short-Faced Bear having such a powerful dense skull served a propose of some sorts? And for the Relatively slightly longer legs, it wouldn't have a problem running down an animal, just like some modern Grizzlies do

[@TheBudgetMuseum]

I'm no expert on exactly why the Bear's skull is the way it is. I should have added this to the video, but I feel the bear's skull being super dense or whatever was probably another misconception that was maybe misinterpreted or fabricated to explain the scavenging behavior (as some sort of circular reasoning) . As for why it was deep, I don't have a clue. Spectacled bears have the same skull shape, and they don't seem to use it uniquely. My guess is the skull on Arctodus also served no different purpose than other bears, it just evolved shorter. As for the chasing, yes the bear could probably chase down prey over short distances like modern bears. But the evidence I presented shows like modern bears, they couldn't do it for long.

[@MWK1995]

@@TheBudgetMuseum I agree with you that the Bear indeed doesn't have a short skull, but rather a tall one, but it had a relatively deeper snout than other bears Also. The Short Faced Bear having a very thick skull isn't a misconception at all, it is very robust actually, and the canines are much much thicker, and larger than any bear's canines even relatively, because of its size. Modern bears can actually chase animals for long distances, there are many videos on KZbin showing that. A 5 minute to 10 minute long chases, and I wouldn't expect any different form the Short-Faced Bear, it had the same strong skeletal structure as any bear that would support its impressive weight. The forelimbs wouldn't be under great strain, and break if it did run for long distances. Big Bears have dense bones, and large muscles. Cool knew detail that you mentioned I never knew about. The high ratio of nitrogen in some specimens found in Alaska might suggest they were overall more omnivorous just like modern Bears. However, are you sure the other specimens which are not located in Alaska don't have high-nitrogen ratios?

[@prehistoriccreature1800]

@@MWK1995 Short Faced Bear had a very weak skeleton and couldn't run or fight well

[@MWK1995]

@@prehistoriccreature1800 Weak skeleton? Any research suggesting that? and what do you mean by that? Thickness/girth/diameter of the bones weren't big? How is the weakness of the skeleton is measured exactly? Check this guy out "Sergei Merjeevski". He made a video about Bear skulls, and the Short-Faced Bear skull, and canines were so impressive, and thick compared to other Bears. I read research implying the Short-Faced Bear probably had the strongest bite force of any land mammalian carnivore that has ever existed. Maybe a very large Cave Bear's skull, or a very large Steppe Brown Bear's skull compares.. The Short-Faced Bear very likely bullied, and dominated carnivores in it's environment, even Lions

[@Oppenheimer33]

​@@TheBudgetMuseumoh cmon short face dont got a long limb and short face? bro thats ultra disappointment they look so cool, no way it just normal larger spectacled bear

[@horizontalnoodlelmao4286]

you need more subscribers, you so underated

[@creakingskull7008]

I love this channel

[@creakingskull7008]

Creaking Skull

[@mrban1419]

The mentally challenges of the wild are truly inspiring keep it up beartard may the force be with you

[@justinreynolds8826]

Well obviously it wasn’t just a scavenger otherwise the face would be longer giving it more surface area to smell better. I think the slightly longer legs were made for running and traveling long distances. Because the climate was changing so much back then I’m sure they migrated.

[@NoArtisticLimitation]

The dire Wolf has a similar issue with looking different, if I remember right. I’m about to look to see if you’ve done a video on them, but if you haven’t, would you consider it?

[@psal8715]

Dont they see the Dire Wolf as not a wolf at all now?

[@LoisoPondohva]

@@psal8715 yes, it's definitely not a wolf. Phylogenetically it's closest living relatives are African wild dogs, but really they are very far removed from all extant species of canines.

[@bovinebear2979]

you are funny! love your presentation

[@d0nKsTaH]

1:39 That's a horror movie waiting to happen right there.....

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

“Now it’s time to get to the truth!” *Short Face rolls around the plains like a ball*

[@Ardi-wd9kz]

Horses weigh up to a ton and have slender, long leg bones, even moreso than the short-faced bear. Horses don't seem to have trouble changing directions at high speeds. Why would Arctodus? I just don't understand how an animal could run too fast for its own good.

[@TheBudgetMuseum]

horses also have incredibly sturdy leg bones, and a whole host of other adaptations to make them the ultimate runners. Arctodus has none of the adaptations we would see in a "running creature" except for it's long legs.

[@Ardi-wd9kz]

@@TheBudgetMuseum I agree that Arctodus may have been primarily a scavenger with its keen olfactory organs, long gait, stamina, its size to scare off other predators from the kill and its powerful jaws to break bones in reaching the marrow, but I just don't buy that an animal's natural design would cause it to break it's legs while changing directions in pursuit of prey. It may not excel at catching fast moving prey, and may not be be able to change directions as well, but to break it's legs in the process is not credible. What other animal has this problem? I just don't see it. If anything, a bears bone are sturdier than other mammals in addition to it's extremely powerful muscles, ligaments and thick layer of fat to protect the bones from breaking. Plus, its legs don't appear to be that much longer or thinner than today's large bears that successfully chase down prey.

[@TheBudgetMuseum]

@@Ardi-wd9kz Modern bears are all ambush predators, creatures who can run down their prey with a quick burst of speed, something I assume Arctodus could do as well. But what was propositioned for Arctodus was an animal who could go on long pursuits after prey similar to a cheetah. And if you ever seen the incredibly twists and turns a cheetah has to do, and then compare that to an animal as bulky as Arctodus, you can see why it might not be able to accomplish that. Now I'm not saying Arctodus was always breaking a leg or two whenever it tried to run. I'm just saying these long distance chases it was theorized the animal could do would have cause immense stress on it's anatomy.

[@Ardi-wd9kz]

@@TheBudgetMuseum cheetahs also have long tails for counter balance when changing directions at high speeds, something bears don't have. They are definitely not chasing down prey with the success of a big cat, unless they're just tiring out an animal over long distances. Either way, it was an amazing animal. Thanks for you channel. Great job.

[@mightymikec7]

@@TheBudgetMuseum dogs and wolves and canines have slim legs and they are long distance runners who will just keep chasing a prey til it tires....The short faced bear hunted bigger animals that were not necessarily fast...it could have just chased them down for long distances til they tired...they didnt have to out run them.

[@jeffreyrizzo785]

Damn good video!!!!

[@alanquinn8745]

Short faces bear smelling for carcasses. Casually tumbles for locomotion.

[@celestial5236]

An indepth video on arctotherium would be cool.

[@t.b.5115]

Read it as "Giant Shit-faced Bear." Did a double take.

[@chancegivens9390]

It's a badass animal regardless.

[@proto-geek248]

what's w/ all the newspaper clippings surrounding the pics?

[@tyrannotherium7873]

It’s actually One of my favorite prehistoric predators of all time

[@remanip.k461]

Short faced bear = Lord of Cenezoic era

[@tyrannotherium7873]

Well I think the American lion and the short face bear are both kings in their own way

[@remanip.k461]

@@tyrannotherium7873 Nope. Only bear

[@tyrannotherium7873]

@@remanip.k461 both

[@remanip.k461]

@@tyrannotherium7873 Bear = Lord Lion = King

[@BACNGUYEN-py5lx]

Cảm ơn anh đã cho em xem video bộ ích

[@boydgrandy5769]

Isotopic testing on these creatures remains in the region of the lower 48 should confirm your hypothesis, based on the projected omnivorous diet you present. Has that testing been done? Makes sense though, that a bear would have the life strategy of bears.....

[@marcelousneal4812]

KZbin had LITERALLY BEEN BEGGING ME to watch this video.. been on my recommendation for 4 days

[@jeffreyrizzo785]

Dude! You should do a video on the Thylacine ( Tasmanian tiger)

[@michaelbryant2071]

In your mind, they are still guesses, not fact but, damn good video.

[@brandonferrell828]

Knowledge is a happy ending.

[@idontnowifiwantedtoliveord7670]

lol the editor is great

[@user-ih2hi2pc1z]

Lol who would think a horse sized bear is anti climatic. Like bro, were terrified spiders.

[@dwwest8168]

What does a 2,000lb bear eat? Whatever the hell it wants.

[@jennifernelson1198]

So I have a native americn site in pennsylvania that I find ice age animal effigies I even have one of these bears..i feel it def gives Insite I to these animals .btw were there any type of sabre tooth like bears?

[@TheBudgetMuseum]

No, there were no bears that possessed sabre teeth.

[@yoboibeerus1387]

Do you mean to Kolponomos C. Because that's the closet thing to Saber toothed bears as far as I know.

[@ReallyBigBadAndy76]

I guess if we are going to second guess all the conclusions of paleontologists and popular science, we should probably establish a couple of things up front. With only a few exceptions (i.e. vultures), most animals don't wake up in the morning and say "today I am applying for the job of pursuit hunter." All animals scavenge. Lions are scavengers. Hyenas can be hunters. In nature it's always a better idea to steal someone else's kill than to go get your own. So there are no animals that won't scavenge given the opportunity. Just like a grizzly bear can (and does) chase down a bison calf, but will also sit at a landfill eating trash, there is no reason to think that extinct animals were any different. All of which is just to say that the idea of mutual exclusivity between "pursuit predator" and "scavenger" is just a misconception based on our need to characterize everything more neatly than nature.

[@urlicqeldromamakolligjazva1752]

That's 1 hell of a bite force from the shape of the first skull. Where the muscles on the head would be, that's a lot of muscle.

[@an0rangutan]

6:43 I legitimately thought you were going to make a pun and say "Never heard of it? That's to be exspectacled"

[@oppaloopa3698]

Jeeze I thought sloth bears with their stupid, creepy, dangly legs was unsettling. One of those that’s THAT BIG? No. Nature was right to nerf it.

[@a.l.michael6240]

My thoughts exactly 😬

[@arctodussimus6198]

Imagine being on the second floor of your house and seeing a bear looking in the window…. This Bear was just too much for Man to handle, so about 10,000 years ago, they were all killed off.

[@trabistheidio1095]

Arctotherium was only believed to have weighed around 590kg on average, with an estimated maximum of around 1 tonne, which is barely any larger than Arctodus. It's much more likely the similar-in-height-yet-much-stockier-brown-bears that lived in Europe at the time were much larger, obtaining weights of ~770kg for average males. These bears are known as Steppe brown bears, though they are very obscure. The similarly sized Arctotherium from Miocene Africa also obtained these sizes, though were slightly smaller on average, with average weights of ~750kg for males.

[@tusker9959]

Cap

[@jeffgaboury3157]

Interesting. Has there been any attempt to validate the more omnivorous nature of this species by testing the diet of specimens from outside of Alaska? I would think that would be the next step to confirming this hypothesis.

[@victory8928]

The problem is just how rare this samples so not many are willing to lose them for testing, but there is always the La bier tar pits for the surprisingly few that are there. (I may be thinking about the wrong species of bear, but I remember so fossils for short face bears being found there).

[@judeevans8303]

3:48 the running animation LOL

[@lowelllipe9125]

I kind of always thought, though omnivores, they were also, most likely, ambush predators.

[@ProphTruth100]

Solid animation of the bear out on the prairie

[@camq-py7bs]

I feel like Rogan got high as balls and watched this and now I’m here 😂

[@wormwood1000]

"There's a long-legged pissed off Arctotherium"

[@akanji8285]

Reminds me of the monster from the series “ the terror”

[@joshrichards9121]

When you see how drastically different an elephant skeleton looks without the tusks or trunk, I don't see how we can accurately depict these ancient creatures

[@ilayohana3150]

i like the fact it was more like modern bears. these kind of things make paleontology feel more tangible

[@joldomines4005]

Well to be honest I do believe they were pretty omnivorous but I also think that if it saw an animal weaker than it’s self eating an its prey it would have used its size as an advantage to get his meal.

[@SonLucasX]

What an amazing and informative video, it completely changed my view of this animal

[@billycampbell854]

......"And tomorrow all this info is subject to change".