This fearsome fossil is Ursus spelaeus, a cave bear that lived 14,000 years ago.

Cave bears, although related to the largest living bears the Arctic, lived only in Europe. Cave finds in the Alps are evidence that the bears’ habitat extended up to altitudes of 6,300 feet. Most of the tens of thousands of remains found are of young and old animals that died during hibernation. Skull accumulations and depictions in cave paintings show that the bears were important to Ice Age humans.

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This fossil is located in the Hall of Advanced Mammals.

Ⓒ American Museum of Natural History