tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321070.post4284334444451969940..comments2024-02-27T11:26:39.655-07:00Comments on Southern Rockies Nature Blog: What Killed the Cave Bears?Chas S. Cliftonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923547685265741325noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321070.post-34802693360196083632010-12-01T20:40:30.405-07:002010-12-01T20:40:30.405-07:00I'd be in Paul Shepard's camp if he let me...I'd be in Paul Shepard's camp if he let me, but I'm not allowed. (Yep, still smarting over the conclusion of that book.)Holly Heyserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03134909592916671876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321070.post-18042623676910902182010-11-30T14:23:21.799-07:002010-11-30T14:23:21.799-07:00Good post, Chas.
Nice to learn of the Smithsonia...Good post, Chas. <br /><br />Nice to learn of the Smithsonian article and the latest work on this beast. Up to now Kurten's "The Cave Bear Story -- life and death of a vanished animal" was my main resource on the creature. But I'd debate the vegetarian extinction hypothesis, because our native grizz is a vegetarian too, and the cave bear's jaws and teeth don't convince that it was an obligatory vegan. There were still plenty of alternative sources of food, including suckling lamb to feed ice age cave bears. <br /><br />BTW, Storer and Tevis (in the "The California Grizzly") underscore the appeal of bear steak to California's Spanish and American colonists, and also make the point that the grizz population exploded when cattle overstocked the range where deer and antelope used to play. Apparently they switched from a predominantly veg to a meat diet.Camera Trap Codgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com