Excavations in the Saltville Valley of southwestern Virginia have revealed rare, significant Late Pleistocene fossils of the giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus), dating to approximately \(14,500\)–\(14,800\) years ago.
As the first carnivoran recorded there, these remains, including teeth and bones, demonstrate that this massive, top-tier predator scavenged on mammoths in the region, offering crucial evidence for the area’s paleoecology.
Key Discovery: Researchers, including those from East Tennessee State University (ETSU), identified Arctodus simus remains in the Saltville Valley, a site known for its abundant Ice Age megafauna.
Evidence of Scavenging: The fossils, specifically dental and skeletal material, show that the short-faced bear fed on mammoth carcasses in the area. The find includes a mammoth heel bone, or calcaneus, with clear bite marks.
Significance: The Saltville Arctodus find is notable as one of the most eastern records for the species and provides a specific, direct radiocarbon date (approx. \(14,853\) BP) for their presence in the Appalachian Highlands.
The Predator: The giant short-faced bear was one of the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivores in North America, with a very powerful bite designed for bone-crushing and, likely, stealing carcasses from smaller predators.
Ongoing Research: The Saltville Valley continues to be a rich site for paleontological research, with the bear fossils contributing to a deeper understanding of the interactions between extinct species at the end of the Pleistocene epoch.
The giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) went extinct around 11,000-12,500 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, likely due to a combination of factors including climate change, the disappearance of large prey animals like mammoths, increased competition with other bears (like brown bears), and potentially pressure from early humans, leading to an ecological collapse that their massive bodies couldn’t adapt to.
