Head of Arctotherium reconstructed by Robert Bruce Horsefall.
The Southern short-faced bear (Arctotherium angustidens) was a genus of large prehistoric short-faced bear which ranged across South and Central America during the Pleistocene, until at least 11,000 years ago. However, some authorities speculate that it may still be extant.
In the late 1890s, Argentine scientist Francisco Moreno received reports of "bear-like tracks in remote parts of the Cordillera, which he [thought] may imply that a species of Arctotherium still lives in Patagonia".[1] In 1898, a topographer of the Argentine Border Commission, Juan Waag, "saw the fresh footprints of a huge animal" which he believed was a bear.[2] A number of reports of dangerous, monstrous quadrupeds also come from Patagonia, but are usually believed to refer to ground sloths.
The 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica also claimed it would not be surprising if Arcotherium were still extant:
| “ | It would not be surprising if this latter animal [Arctotherium] were still in existence, for footprints, which may be attributed to it, have been observed on the borders of the rivers Tamango and Pista.[2]
|
” |
It has also been speculated that the milne, a very large, black cryptid bear reported from the Peruvian Amazon, may have been a living Arctotherium angustidens, as could the Bigfoot-like ucumar of Argentina.[3]
Similar cryptids[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Prichard, Hesketh Vernon (1902) Through the Heart of Patagonia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bears in Patagonia | Patagonian Monsters
- ↑ Frontiers of Zoology: Booger Bears