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Cave Bear

Ursus spelaeus

Image: a cave bear skeleton, found and on display in the

Teufelshöhle (Devils Cave), Germany.

Image: a cave bear skeleton, upright. Reconstruction in the

Speleologic Museum Laichingen, Germany.

The Cave Bear lived in Europe during the Pleistocene. The scientific name Ursus spelaeus derives from the fact that he lived in caves. Cave bears used caves for many purposes: they lived there in winter, gave birth to the young and died in caves. Brown bears on the other side use caves only for hibernation.

In many caves all over Europe huge ramains of cave bears have been found. The bones in caves are normally from cave bears. In several caves skeletons of bears are displayed.

The main difference between the cave bear and the brown bear of today is the size: His weight could be up to 1 ton (1000kg), his shoulder height was 3.50m, which is about 30% bigger than the brown bear. A easy way to see if it is a cave bear or a brown bear is the skull. The forehead of the cave bear is higher and steeper than that of the brown bear.

The cave bear was a herbivore. His food were herbs, gras, berries and the honey of wild bees. But sometimes he hunted small animals. The maximum age of cave bears was 20 years.

At the end of the Ice Age, the forests shrunk drastically. The reduction of the cave bears main source of food lead to its extinction in the first half of the Würm Ice Age, about 10.000 years ago.

Cave Bear

Ursus spelaeus

See also