The pygmy brown bear is a cyptid bear reported from the Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park in the Pasco Department of Peru. It was reported by park rangers who claimed to have had several encounters with small, brown-furred bears, including one young individual being raised by a local.[1]
One theory is that they may have been undersized spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) specimens,[2] but the rangers claimed that the animals were not spectacled bears.[3] Carl Marshall argues that it could be a genuine pygmy variety of brown bear (Ursus arctos), as tropical forest animals are often smaller than their temperate cousins.[4]
The red-furred Macarena bear of Colombia, which is also thought to be a colour variant of the spectacled bear, may be the same animal.[5]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Hocking, Peter J. "Further Investigation into Unknown Peruvian Mammals", Cryptozoology 12 (1996)
- ↑ Eberhart, George M. (2002) Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, ABC-CLIO, Inc., ISBN 1576072835
- ↑ Shuker, Karl P. N. "A Supplement to Dr Bernard Heuvelmans' Checklist of Cryptozoological Animals," Fortean Studies, Vol. 5 (1998)
- ↑ Marshall, Carl "Unexpected Ursidae: A Selection of Crypto Bears, Hybrids and Behaviours," Flying Snake No. 10 (March 2016)
- ↑ Drinnon, Dale A. Frontiers of Zoology: Booger Bears frontiersogzoology.blogspot.com (31 May 2011) [Accessed 14 September 2020]