Mexican Grizzly
Encyclopedia
The Mexican grizzly bear (Ursus arctos nelsoni) is a presumed extinct subspecies of the Brown bear
. It is named after American naturalist Edward William Nelson
who secured a series for the U. S. Biological Survey. The holotype
was shot by H. A. Cluff at Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua in 1899.
s in the 16th century when Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
went on an expedition to find the Seven Cities of Gold
. His trudge began in Mexico City
in 1540 and went north to New Mexico
and the Buffalo Plains
in the modern-day U.S. states of Texas
and Kansas
. Because the bears preyed on livestock from time to time they were considered a pest by the farmers. The Mexican grizzly bear was trapped, shot and poisoned, and had already become scarce in the 1930s. Its former range decreased to the three isolated mountains Cerro Campano, Santa Clara, and Sierra del Nido 80 km north of Chihuahua in the state of Chihuahua. By 1960 only 30 of them were left. Despite its protected status the hunting continued. By 1964 the Mexican grizzly bear was regarded as extinct. After rumours of some surviving individuals on a ranch at the headwaters of the Yaqui River
in the state of Sonora
in 1969, American biologist Dr. Carl B. Koford
went on a three-month survey but without success.
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
. It is named after American naturalist Edward William Nelson
Edward William Nelson
Edward William Nelson was an American naturalist and ethnologist. He was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. In 1871 together with his family, he became homeless due to the Chicago Fire....
who secured a series for the U. S. Biological Survey. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
was shot by H. A. Cluff at Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua in 1899.
Description
The Mexican grizzly bear was one of the heaviest and largest mammals in Mexico. It reached a length up to 183 centimetres and an average weight of 318 kilograms. Due to its silver fur it was often named "el oso plateado" (the silver bear) The Mexican grizzly bear was smaller than the grizzly bears in the United States and Canada. The general color was pale buffy yellowish varying to grayish-white, grizzled from the darker color of the underfur. Specimens in worn pelage varied to yellowish-brown and occasionally to rusty. The longest fur hairs were on the throat and the flanks. The belly was sparsely haired lacking the thick underfur of the back and the flanks.Range and Habitat
The Mexican grizzly bear inhabited the northern territories of Mexico in particular the temperate grasslands and mountainous pine forests. Its previous range reached from Arizona to New Mexico and Mexico.Biology
Its diet consisted mainly on plants, fruits and insects. Occasionally it fed also from small mammals and carrion. One to three cubs were born all three years.Extinction
The first Europeans to come in contact with the Mexican grizzly bear were the conquistadorConquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s in the 16th century when Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
went on an expedition to find the Seven Cities of Gold
Quivira and Cíbola
Quivira is a place first mentioned by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541, who visited it during his searches for the mythical "Seven Cities of Gold". The location and identity of the "Quivirans" has been much debated over a wide area, including Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri...
. His trudge began in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1540 and went north to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and the Buffalo Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
in the modern-day U.S. states of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Because the bears preyed on livestock from time to time they were considered a pest by the farmers. The Mexican grizzly bear was trapped, shot and poisoned, and had already become scarce in the 1930s. Its former range decreased to the three isolated mountains Cerro Campano, Santa Clara, and Sierra del Nido 80 km north of Chihuahua in the state of Chihuahua. By 1960 only 30 of them were left. Despite its protected status the hunting continued. By 1964 the Mexican grizzly bear was regarded as extinct. After rumours of some surviving individuals on a ranch at the headwaters of the Yaqui River
Yaqui River
The Yaqui River is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, the Yaqui river is used for irrigation....
in the state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
in 1969, American biologist Dr. Carl B. Koford
Carl B. Koford
Carl Buckingham Koford was an American biologist who is known for his research work on the behavior of the California Condor. He attended the Piedmont High School and studied at the University of Washington. Koford began his field work about the California Condor in March 1939...
went on a three-month survey but without success.
Further reading
- Walton Beacham: World Wildlife Fund Guide to Extinct Species of Modern Times, 1997, ISBN 0933833407
- Julian HuxleyJulian HuxleySir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS was an English evolutionary biologist, humanist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century evolutionary synthesis...
, Martyn Bramwell et al.: The Atlas of World Wildlife, 1973 - David DayDavid Day (Canadian writer)David Day is a Canadian author most notably known for his biographies about J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.-Biography:...
: The Doomsday Book of Animals. Ebury Press, London 1981, ISBN 0670279870.