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Bears in Africa?
Topic Started: Feb 6 2017, 07:22 AM (537 Views)
Cape Leopard
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Heterotrophic Organism
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Ok, fun fact: there used to be bears in Africa.

Of course there was the Atlas Bear, which lived in the mountains of Morocco and Algeria. Sadly they were driven extinct in the late 1800s by, you guessed it, overhunting. Before the ecology was destroyed by man in that area, Atlas bears would have interacted with Barbary lions and Barbary leopards, and may have preyed on Barbary red deer and gazelles on rare occasions. As in today's areas where both species still overlap, these bears may have competed with wild boar for the mast of the oak forests where they lived.

Then there was a massive bear species that survived in sub-Saharan Africa about 5 million years ago; fossils have been found in modern South Africa's West Coast. It competed with sabre-toothed cats and hyenas.

Would you support a re-introduction of brown bears to Morocco? Perhaps a good source population would be Iberian bears, as they probably are the closest genetically.

How would a bear fare in modern sub-Saharan Africa? Would it be able to compete with and survive alongside the assemblage of predators that inhabit Africa? Which bear species would be the most successful?



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Finderskeepers
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Black bears would be more successful. Their diet and smaller size allows them a higher chance of survival compared to the brown bear. The cream coloured black bears would be especially successful as they would be able to blend into the grass better. But that's just the coolest option. The best one would be the sun bear. It's already adapted for heat. And the diet is adaptable as well.
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Claudiu Constantin Nicolaescu
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Brown bears (Ursus arctos) can regain North Africa anytime by themselves. They don't need human assistance to expand their current range. Also the other living bear species (family Ursidae), they can move freely between continents.
Edited by Claudiu Constantin Nicolaescu, Feb 7 2017, 03:09 AM.
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Mammuthus
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I personally think Sloth Bears could do well. They already live in a hot-climate, and being able to fend of Tigers i'am sure they could cope well against other predators (like Leopards, Cheetahs and lone Hyenas). But i'am unsure about food, perhaps Warthogs could be an option?
Edited by Mammuthus, Feb 7 2017, 03:40 AM.
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Grazier
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The level of competition in sub Saharan Africa, specifically the plains and open woodlands, is very very intense and cutthroat. There's probably a good reason bears haven't been there for millions of years.

Competition isn't "fighting" btw, although that would become an issue too against prides of lions, clans of hyenas, even herds of buffalo. They're gonna just be hot, tired, hungry and thirsty all the time.
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