The Egyptian bear was a cryptid bear reported from Egypt by Venetian physician Prospero Alpini in 1736, posthumously.[1] Alpini described it as "not larger than our sheep, of a whitish colour, more easily tamed and less fierce than our own".[2] In Classical times, Herodotus also stated that bears existed in Egypt, though they were rare.[3]
Bears are not currently known to have existed in Egypt in historical times. Naturalist Georges Cuvier stated that Alpini's bears were certainly not bears, on account of their small size and whitish fur,[4] and Egyptologist John Gardner Wilkinson believed that "there is little doubt" that bears had never been known in Egypt.[3] However, Bernard Heuvelmans notes that the Syrian bear (Ursus arctos syriacus), which has tawny-white fur and is notably smaller than many other brown bear varieties, is known to exist very close to Egypt, on the other side of the Sinai Peninsula, and argues that it would not be surprising if the subspecies had once existed in Egypt.[1]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Heuvelmans, Bernard & Barloy, Jean-Jacques (2015) Les Ours Insolites d'Afrique, Les Éditions de l'Œil du Sphinx, ISBN 9791091506298
- ↑ Alpini, Prospero & Batavorum, Lugduni & Potvliet, G. (1736) Historiae Ægypti naturalis pars prima qua continentur RERUM ÆGYPTIARUM libri quatuor
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wilkinson, John Gardner (1847) The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians: Including Their Private Life, Government, Laws, Arts, Manufactures, Religion, Agriculture and Early History
- ↑ Cuvier, Georges (1825) Recherches Sur les Ossemens Fossiles de Quadrupèdes