Scientists Find Fossil of World's Largest Bear

Figure about 11 feet tall and nearly 2 tons
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 3, 2011 6:53 PM CST
Scientists Find Fossil of World's Largest Bear
File photo: This modern bear would have been a shrimp by comparison.   (AP Photo/Living with Wildlife Foundation)

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized remains of the largest bear known to walk the Earth, LiveScience reports. Unearthed in Argentina, the giant short-faced bear was at least 11 feet tall when standing on its hind legs and weighed between 3,500 and 3,855 pounds—almost twice as big as the largest known polar bear. It lived between 500,000 and 2 million years ago.

"During its time, this bear was the largest and most powerful land predator in the world," says one paleontologist. "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."
(More fossil stories.)

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