Mexican Grizzly Bear
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The Mexican grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis'', formerly ''Ursus arctos nelsoni'') is an
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of the
grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
in the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. The specimen later designated the holotype of ''U. a. nelsoni'' was shot by H. A. Cluff at Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua, in 1899. The extinct
California grizzly bear The California grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos californicus''), also known as the California brown bear, California golden bear, or chaparral bear, is an extinct population of the brown bear, generally known (together with other North American brow ...
extended slightly south into
Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
. The bears in
Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
, Chihuahua,
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
and central Mexico were likely more related to the bears of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas than to those of California.


Description

Known in the Opatas language as the , the grizzly was one of the heaviest and largest mammals in Mexico. It reached a length up to and an average weight of . Due to its silver fur, it was often named in Spanish as ''el oso plateado'' (the silvery bear). This bear was also described to have been of a dark color and only rarely with a reddish coat. The Mexican grizzly was smaller than the grizzlies in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The general color was pale buffy yellow varying to grayish-white, grizzled from the darker color of the underfur. Specimens in worn pelage varied to yellowish-brown and reddish. The longest fur hairs were on the throat and the flanks. The belly was sparsely haired, lacking the thick underfur of the back and the flanks.


Range and habitat

The bear inhabited the northern territories of Mexico, in particular the temperate grasslands and mountainous pine forests. Its previous range reached from across Aridoamerica, from
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
to
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It seems unlikely that the bears would have hibernated although they may have spent some time in winter dens.


Biology

Like all
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
s, Mexican grizzlies were
omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...
s. Their diet mainly consisted of plants, fruits and insects, and it is reported that it was very fond of ants, like most brown bears. Occasionally it fed also on small mammals and carrion. Females produced one to three cubs every three years or so. This bear is within mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Clade 4, as are all of the extant North American brown bears.


Extinction

The first Europeans to come in contact with the Mexican grizzly were the
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
s in the 16th century, when
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...
went on an expedition to find the
Seven Cities of Gold The myth of the Seven Cities of Gold, also known as the Seven Cities of Cíbola (), was popular in the 16th century and later featured in several works of popular culture. According to legend, the seven cities of gold referred to Aztec mythology ...
. His expedition began in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in 1540, and went north to
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and the
Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
in the modern-day
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
s of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. Because the bears hunted cattle from time to time, they were considered as pests by farmers. Grizzlies were trapped, shot and poisoned, and had already become scarce by the 1930s. Its former range decreased to the three isolated mountains, Cerro Campana, Cerro Santa Clara, and Sierra del Nido north of
Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...
, within the State of Chihuahua. By 1960, only 30 individuals were said to remain. Despite its protected status, the hunting continued. By 1964, the Mexican grizzly was regarded as being extinct. After rumours of some surviving individuals on a ranch at the headwaters of the
Yaqui River The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in the Yaqui or Yoreme language) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It was formerly known as the Rio del Norte. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, th ...
in the state of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
in 1968, American biologist Dr. Carl B. Koford went on a three-month survey but without success. A grizzly was shot in 1976 in Sonora, the fourth confirmed in Sonora, and the first in many decades. The Mexican grizzly is now presumed to be extinct, or perhaps only
extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...
.


References


Further reading

*
Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...
, Martyn Bramwell et al.: ''The Atlas of World Wildlife'', 1973 * David Day: ''The Doomsday Book of Animals''. Ebury Press, London 1981, . * Jane Thornbark and Martin Jenkins: ''The IUCN Mammal Red Data Book. Part 1: Threatened mammalian taxa of the Americas and the Australasian zoogeographic region (excluding Cetacea)''. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland Switzerland, 1982. p. 339 * Walton Beacham: ''World Wildlife Fund Guide to Extinct Species of Modern Times'', 1997, * A. Starker Leopold: ''Wildlife of Mexico – The Game Birds and Mammals'', 1959


External links


Endangered Species Handbook Persecution and Hunting - Bears
{{Taxonbar, from=Q844216 Grizzly bears Extinct bears Endemic mammals of Mexico Extinct animals of Mexico Mammal extinctions since 1500 Species made extinct by deliberate extirpation efforts Carnivorans of North America Natural history of the Mexican Plateau