Why Are There No Bears In Africa?

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Why Are There No Bears In Africa?

There are 8 species of bear alive in the world today: the American Black bear, the Asiatic Black bear, the Brown Bear, the Giant Panda, the Polar Bear, the Sloth Bear, the Andean Spectacled Bear, and the Sun Bear. They are found across the globe from North and South America to Europe, Asia, and the Arctic. But none is found in Africa.
Polar bears and Kodiak bears (a subspecies of brown bears) are the two largest in the world. Weighing in at 1200 pounds and standing up to 10 feet tall on their hind legs, they are an impressive sight. In comparison, the smallest bear is the sun bear. Found in southeast Asia, these bears weigh less than 145 pounds and grow to a maximum length of 4 feet.
There is an abundance of both vegetation and prey animals for bears in Africa, not to mention a vast array of habitats that would suit many of the bear species. So why aren’t there any bears currently living in Africa?

#bear #africa #wildlife

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I am almost 80 years old. I have never even considered why bears don't exist in Africa!
You learn something new everyday! (If you open your mind and heart)

here_we_go_again

Too many aggressive pack hunters in Africa. Bears are quite solitary which would make them vulnerable against heavy numbers. A large grizzly can hold its own against a pack of wolves, but against a lion pride or big enough pack of hyenas....would be difficult.

bobbyrossfella

People saying “Bears won’t be able to hold their own against other large predators and pack animals like lions, hyenas and wild dogs” forget the fact that bears are present in India and India also has tigers, leopards, lions, wolves, hyenas and wild dogs.

TJSaw

There were bears in Africa, from prehistoric times all the way to 1870. The last living African species, the Atlas bear, was hunted to extinction by man. The answer to this question is exactly the same as the equally tragic "Why are there no Quaggas in Africa?" On the geologic time scale both species were driven to extinction less than a second ago...

theosnepenthes

You forgot that the Sahara gets wetter in cycles, becoming a grassy savanna with scattered trees-this would be much easier for ancient bears to cross, so it is doubly odd that none made it south to central and southern Africa.

eoachan

I heard "the Sahara dessert could have acted as a BEARier to the species"

queliolionelo

Brown bears in southern Sweden are genetically close to French bears while the northern are related to Russian ones, probably indicating two paths of advance after the ice age

mattiasdahlstrom

Climate wise, modern bears probably could survive in Africa, particularly how hot it can be in India where the Sloth Bear lives. In this, to a degree, modern bears if introduced into Africa could handle the present climate.

And no bears under the Genus Arctodus lived in Africa at any point, they were in North America and are the ancestors of the modern Andean Bear. It was only the Agriotherium that lived in sub-Saharan Africa. And while temperatures may have been cooler then, it probably was not super cold in Africa at the time. Certain elements of change in the climate may have affected Agriotherium's extinction, but I wouldn't think that raising temperatures would have been part of it.

Given Agriotherium's size, it's probable that competition with other predators played a larger role in its extinction. Particularly if it thrived before the appearance of more modern Lions and Hyenas. Their hunting in groups would present a challenge that the solitary Bear wouldn't be able to easily match.

SamuelJamesNary

Can you imagine a hybrid cross mix between all of the bear species in to one mega bear ? 🤔

adariepennant

So the Atlas bear was the only bear species to ever lived in Africa until it went extinct

ryanawesome

Atlas or Barbary bears may have been similar in size to black bears, they were not black bears. They were a subspecies example of species radiation from brown bears.

ronmaximilian

Black bears are extremely plentiful in the NJ/NY Metro suburbs. They regularly roam our streets and backyards and are a topic of conversation. We always talk about who’s street or backyard “ the bear” was last seen. They never bother anyone or harm the pets.

NuNugirl

Black bears live all over the southern United states. Anyone who has ever been in Florida or other areas of the south knows how blazing hot and humid those states can get. Also, in the southern most parts they wouldn't even need to hibernate.

christianeaster

You deliver excellent content to your audience. It's very interesting material. All of your effort put into creating this video is much appreciated. I'm truly grateful for your help!

davidmizak

I'm likely posting way too quickly (only at 0:41 now), but here's my guess. Bears evolved in Eurasia/N. America (remember Beringia during the Ice Ages). You have to go through fiercely hot desert to go from there to *Subsaharan* Africa/Arabian peninsula. The desert extends from the Atlantic to the Arabian Sea. So the Sahara/Arabian Desert is a huge geographic barrier, not just to bears but to all sorts of wildlife.

filrabat