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DR KAS HAMMAN - BERE IN AFRIKA
By: Dr Kas Hamman
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Image of the now extinct Atlas bear
ONCE UPON A TIME AFRICA WAS HOME TO BEARS
Although the African continent is endowed with some of the richest animal species diversity in the world, today there are no bears to be found on this continent. However, there was a time not so long ago when bears roamed northern Africa, especially the Atlas Mountains from Morocco to Libya. The Atlas bear Ursus arctos crowtheri originated from the Asian brown bear Ursus arctos that migrated into the northern parts of Africa about 10 000 years ago. As result of this isolation, it evolved into a subspecies of the brown bear.
As in the case of many other species, man was responsible for the extinction of these magnificent animals in recent times mainly due to their capturing for recreational use, the zoo trade and unsustainable hunting. The Atlas Bear population went extinct in Africa a meagre 150 years ago, alongside declining bear numbers in Europe. Not commonly known is that the Atlas bear was predated by the biggest bear that ever roamed the earth. Scientist discovered fossil remains of this huge animal in some parts of Africa, like the SubSaharan, Ethiopia and South Africa. The scientific name of this extinct pre-historic animal is Agriotherium africanum and it weighed around 900 kilograms, which is more than double the weight of the largest bears living today. Imagine a world where bears weighing almost a ton roamed the plains of Africa. These bears were quite different from the bears we know today and existed for many millions of years, but went extinct about 2,5 million years ago – long before the Atlas bear migrated into the northern parts of Africa and humans started populating the globe. Atlas bear can be partly attributed to the expansion of the Roman Empire into the northern parts of Africa. The Romans intensely hunted and captured Atlas bears (among other local animals) and used them as entertainment for many of their games. This went on for centuries, during which time thousands of bears were used in the arenas to fight against gladiators, lions, tigers and other animals. They were cruelly treated, often starved and malnourished to increase their desperation, and hence their aggression, within the Roman arenas. Thousands of these bears were also hunted for sport, venatio (Latin for “hunting”) was a type of entertainment in Roman amphitheatres involving the hunting and killing of wild animals. The execution of criminals in ad bestias (Latin for “condemnation to beasts”) was a form of Roman capital punishment where a condemned person was killed by wild animals, usually lions, big cats or bears.
The Atlas bear became extinct shortly after modern firearms were used for hunting which contributed to their decline. Pressure from zoo collectors sealed their fate by reducing the numbers of these animals to below sustainable reproduction levels. The Atlas bear finally became extinct in the late 19th century and the last animal recorded to be killed by hunters was in 1870 in the Tetouan Mountains in northern Morocco. Human behaviour most definitely was the main and decisive contributor that caused the extinction of Africa’s Atlas bear.
Distribution of the Brown bear and its sub-species
The most widespread bear species is the Brown bears Ursus arctos. This species entered Europe about 250,000 years ago and are still found in large parts of Asia. Brown bear fossil remains from the Pleistocene geological period (2,5 million years ago to present) are common in the British Isles and Europe. Geographic isolation resulted in the evolution of several sub-species. The brown bear entered Alaska about a 100,000 years ago, though they only started moving south into Canada and north America about 13,000 years ago, where it is also known as the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis). Today, several bear species are classified as endangered, but the common brown bear is the only bear species that is not classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Over time the Atlas bear Ursus arctos crowtheri, developed into a subspecies of the brown bear after a founder population migrated into the northern parts of Africa about 10,000 years ago. It is interesting to note that this sub-species did manage to survive into modern times along with humans. As with many other species “modern” humans apparently had no need or desire to co-exist with these unique creatures and actively contributed to its demise. These bears inhabited the Atlas Mountains and neighbouring areas, from Morocco to Libya, but sadly are now extinct. The Atlas bear was brownish-black in colour and lacked a white mark on the muzzle. The fur on the underparts was reddishorange. The fur was 100 –130 mm long. The muzzle and claws were shorter than those of the American black bear, though it was stouter and thicker in body. The Atlas bear was said to have been 2.7 m long and weighed up to 450 kgs. As most bears, the Atlas bear was mostly herbivorous, but also omnivores when the opportunity avails itself. If it did eat meat, it was believed to eat small mammals as well as carrion while scavenging.
Atlas bear genetics
A mitochondrial DNA study was conducted on bones of Atlas bears ranging in age from 10,000 to 800 years before present. The results of this study indicate that Atlas bears are not closely related to Middle Eastern brown bear populations, despite their geographic proximity. This suggests that the colonisation of Africa by brown bears was an event that happened many thousands of years ago, allowing for adaptation to different climatic conditions resulting in sufficient genetic drift or modification to justify it as a sub-species. Despite this, the ecology of the Atlas bear is presumed to have been similar to that of other brown bears.
The ancient giant bear Agriotherium africanum The extinct bear Agriotherium africanum forms part of the extinct genus Agriotherium whose fossils are found in 11,6 to 2,5 million year-old
A skeleton and reconstructed image of the extinct Agriotherium africanum
geological strata in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. This long-lived genus survived successfully for more than 9 million years on 5 large continents, which is really remarkable! Fossil remains of A. africanum in Africa suggest that this huge animal went extinct about 2,5 million years ago, probably as result of competition. Scientist discovered fossil remains of these animals that attained weights of around 900 kilograms in some parts of Africa, like the Sub-Saharan, Ethiopia and South Africa. It was not until 1976 that many new, and some exceptionally “well preserved” specimens of Agriotherium africanum were discovered and described at the Langebaan Fossil Park site. These animals were about double the size of today’s brown bears and they managed to survive successfully for many millions of years. Although these bears were powerful in size and able to put up a good fight, life was (and still is) tough in Africa. These animals were mainly solitary beings and finding a mate and shelter from threats must have been a challenge. The habitat and climate in which these animals found themselves, probably became unsuitable at a rate that exceeded their ability to adapt successfully, hence their demise.
Concluding remarks
Millions of years ago a giant bear Agriotherium africanum roamed large parts of the world, including the plains of Africa and even southern Africa. Habitat and climate conditions probably became unsuitable at a rate that exceeded their ability to adapt and the species went extinct in Africa and other continents of the world. Although the Atlas bear established itself successfully in parts of northern Africa about 10,000 years ago, the Romans, early zoo traders and finally unsustainable hunting, contributed to a human-induced extinction in the late 19th century of the last bears of Africa in northern Morocco.
