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.