Giant short-faced bears belong to the Ursidae family, which also includes black bears, grizzly bears and polar bears. Arctodus simus was very large in size with a short body and long slender limbs. Arctodus simus had a short neck, a short broad snout and a low forehead.

Giant short-faced bears lived during the middle and late Pleistocene (about 1.3 million to ~12,500 years ago), and were found in many different habitats in North America from the steppe-tundra to grasslands. Giant short-faced bears could have been carnivores (only ate other animals) or omnivores (ate both animals and plants). Recent studies suggest that Arctodus simus was a scavenger rather than a predator. Giant short-faced bears went extinct approximately 12,500 years ago.

New information on the Giant short-faced bear is being discovered all the time and opening the debate on the behavior and life-style of this giant bear.

The first giant short-faced bears appeared during the middle Pleistocene (about 1.3 million years ago), and were widespread throughout North America. They were found from Alaska and northern Canada to Mexico, and from California to Virginia.

Giant short-faced bears belong to the Ursidae family, which also includes black bears, grizzly bears and polar bears. Arctodus simus was very large in size with a short body and long, slender limbs. Arctodus simus had a short neck, a short broad snout, and a low forehead with eyes that were set in the front of the skull. Its front and back feet pointed forward, which was different from most bears whose feet point inwards. It was also very light for its size and could move very quickly. The teeth of Arctodus simus were similar to the teeth of the brown bear. It had a front set of large canine teeth followed by many large, jagged molars. These teeth were used to cut into animal hide, tear and slice meat, and possibly grind coarse plant material.

Giant short-faced bears were extremely large in size. They were 1.5m at the shoulder, over 3m when standing with a 4.2m vertical reach, and weighed about 500kg. The size of Arctodus simus would vary depending on sex and location. Males were typically 15% bigger than females, and giant short-faced bears found in Alaska and the Yukon were much larger than individuals found in other locations.



Giant short-faced bears lived during the middle and late Pleistocene (about 1.3 million to ~12,500 years ago), when the most recent ice ages took place. They were found in many different habitats in North America from the steppe-tundra to grasslands. Many fossil remains of Arctodus simus were also found in caves, and it appears that only the females lived in caves.



What and how giant short-faced bears ate is hotly debated in the scientific community. Some think that Arctodus simus were carnivores, which means they only ate other animals. They ate large herbivores like bison, deer, horses and ground sloths. However, recent studies have found proof that Arctodus simus were omnivores, which means they ate both animals and plants.

Initially, scientists thought that Arctodus simus was an extremely powerful predator that skillfully hunted its prey. Several recent studies of Arctodus simus suggest that its body was not suited to hunting and it was more likely a scavenger. A scavenger eats animals that have been killed by other predators. Rather than a predator, Arctodus simus was a super-scavenger. Scientists are still researching these theories to discover how this giant bear obtained its food and what it ate.

Giant short-faced bears went extinct approximately 12,500 years ago. During this time the last ice age ended and many large herbivores (like mammoths and mastodons) began to go extinct due to the change in climate and increased hunting pressure by humans. Arctodus simus ate many large herbivores, and the disappearance of these herbivores could have played a large role in its extinction. There is some evidence that competition from brown bears for food also played a role in the extinction of Arctodus simus but scientists are still researching and debating this theory.

Little is known about the behavior of Giant short-faced bears but from studying their fossils and their modern bear cousins, scientists can make a few educated guesses on their behavior. It is thought that Arctodus simus lived alone except for mothers with cubs and during mating times.

Arctodus simus belongs to the Ursidae family, which also includes black bears, grizzly bears and polar bears. There is one other well-known species of Arctodus, Arctodus pristinus or the short-faced bear. Arctodus pristinus is a primitive bear, and could be the ancestor of Arctodus simus.