Editing Atlas bear

{{Short description|Extinct subspecies of brown bear in Africa}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Atlas bear
| image = Atlasbear.jpg
| image_caption = Probable Atlas bear in Roman mosaic
| status = EX
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=McLellan, B.N. |author2=Proctor, M.F. |author3=Huber, D. |author4=Michel, S. |year=2017 |amends=2017 |title=''Ursus arctos'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T41688A121229971 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T41688A121229971.en |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>
| extinct = 1870
| genus = Ursus
| species = arctos
| species_link = Brown bear
| subspecies = crowtheri
| authority = [[Heinrich Rudolf Schinz|Schinz]], 1844
}}

The '''Atlas bear''' or '''North African bear'''<ref name="Bryden1899">Bryden, H. A. (ed.) (1899). [https://archive.org/stream/greatsmallgameof00majo#page/544/mode/2up ''Great and small game of Africa''] Rowland Ward Ltd., London. Pp. 544–608.</ref><ref name=Schaller>[[#Schaller|Schaller]], p. 220–21.</ref> ('''''Ursus arctos crowtheri''''') was a [[population]] (or populations) of [[brown bear|brown bears]] native to [[North Africa]] that became [[Extinction|extinct]] in historical times.

== Range ==
The Atlas bear was [[Africa]]'s only native [[bear]] sub-species that survived into modern times. Once inhabiting the [[Atlas Mountains]] and neighbouring areas, from [[Morocco]] to [[Libya]], the animal is now thought to be extinct.<ref name="Calvignac et al. 2009">{{cite journal|last1=Calvignac |first1=Sebastien |last2=Hughes |first2=Sandrine |last3=Hanni |first3=Catherine |date=2009 |title=Genetic diversity of endangered brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa |journal=Diversity and Distributions |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=742–750 |doi=10.1111/j.1472-4642.2009.00586.x|s2cid=21666120 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2009DivDi..15..742C }}</ref>

== Description ==
The Atlas bear was brownish-black in colour and lacked a white mark on the muzzle. The fur was {{nowrap|{{convert|4|-|5|in|0}}}} long and was reddish-orange on the underparts.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Atlas bear (extinct) – Bear Conservation |url=http://www.bearconservation.org.uk/atlas-bear-extinct/ |access-date=2020-10-02 |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 {{convert|9|ft}} long and weighed up to {{nowrap|{{convert|1000|lbs|kg}}}}.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|title=Atlas bear facts |author=Bob Strauss |website=About Education 
|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/atlas-bear-facts-and-figures-1093048
|date=4 February 2019 |access-date=30 July 2022}}</ref>

== Genetics ==
A [[mitochondrial DNA]] study of bones of Atlas bears ranging in age from 10,000 to 800 years [[Before Present]] found that the specimens belonged to two distinct [[clade]]s: one, referred to as "Clade V", was indistinguishable from brown bears found in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], while the other "Clade VI", was highly distinct from all other brown bears, either closely related to the [[polar bear]] and Alaskan brown bears or outside the group that contains all other brown bear mitochondrial lineages.<ref name="Calvignac, S. 2008">{{cite journal|last1=Calvignac |first1=S. |last2=Hughes |first2=S. |last3=Tougard |first3=C. |last4=Michaux |first4=J. |last5=Thevenot |first5=M. |last6=Philippe |first6=M. |last7=Hamdine |first7=W. |last8=Hanni |first8=C. |date=2008 |title=Ancient DNA evidence for the loss of a highly divergent brown bear clade during historical times |journal=[[Molecular Ecology]] |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=1962–1970 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294x.2008.03631.x |pmid=18363668 |bibcode=2008MolEc..17.1962C |s2cid=23361337|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00287307/file/calvignac2008.pdf }}</ref>

Atlas bears do not appear to be closely related to Middle Eastern brown bear populations, despite geographic proximity, which suggests that the colonization of [[Lake Akfadou|North Africa]] by brown bears was an event of considerable antiquity.<ref name="Calvignac et al. 2009" />

== Ecology ==
The Atlas bear's ecology is presumed to be similar to that of the other brown bears. Apparently fed on roots, [[acorn]]s and nuts,<ref>{{cite book |last=Reid |first=Mayne |title=Bruin: The Grand Bear Hunt |publisher=Ticknor and Fields |year=1865}}</ref> the Atlas bear was said to have been mostly [[Herbivore|herbivorous]], but since most bears today are [[omnivore]]s, the Atlas bear is believed to have been able to eat meat as well.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> It was believed that, if it did eat meat, it probably ate small mammals as well as carrion while scavenging.<ref name=":0" /> [[Sympatry|Sympatric]] predators included the [[African leopard|Barbary leopard]] and [[Barbary lion]].<ref name="Bryden1899"/><ref name="NowellJackson1996">{{cite book |last1=Nowell |first1=Kristin |last2=Jackson |first2=Peter |title=Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |url=http://carnivoractionplans1.free.fr/wildcats.pdf |year=1996 |publisher=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=978-2-8317-0045-8 |pages=1–334}}</ref>

== Extinction ==
The Atlas bear became extinct shortly after modern firearms were developed. Over-hunting may have contributed to their decline. Pressure from zoo collectors sealed their fate, with the animals being taken away from one another and unable to reproduce and flourish. The Atlas bear finally became extinct in the late 19th century; the last one recorded to be killed by hunters was in 1870 in the [[Tetouan]] Mountains in northern Morocco.<ref name=":0"/> Human activity can definitely be said to have played a large role in causing the extinction of the Atlas bear.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Bear Almanac |location=Guilford, CT |date=1993 |pages=281}}</ref>

==See Also==
*[[List of African animals extinct in the Holocene]]
*''[[Agriotherium africanum]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hamdinea |first=Watik |author2=Thévenotb, Michel|author3= Michaux, Jacques |year=1998 |title=Histoire récente de l'ours brun au Maghreb |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences |volume=321 |issue=7 |pages=565–570 |doi=10.1016/S0764-4469(98)80458-7 |language=fr |pmid=10877599 |bibcode=1998CRASG.321..565H }}
* {{cite book |last=Day |first=David |date=1981 |title=The Doomsday Book of Animals: A Natural History of Vanished Species |publisher=[[Viking Press]] |pages=168–170 |isbn=0-670-27987-0}}
* "Bears of the Last Frontier, Hour One: City of Bears: Brown Bear Fact Sheet". www.pbs.org. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
* "The Animal Files". www.theanimalfiles.com. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
* "Brown Bear- Ursus Arctos". The National Park Service. www.nps.gov. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

== External links ==
{{Wikispecies|Ursus arctos crowtheri}}
* {{EOL}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q695431}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:bear, Atlas}}
[[Category:Extinct bears|Atlas bear]]
[[Category:Mammals of North Africa]]
[[Category:Extinct mammals of Africa]]
[[Category:Extinct animals of Africa]]
[[Category:Species made extinct by human activities]]
[[Category:Mammal extinctions since 1500]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1844|Atlas bear]]
[[Category:Species that are or were threatened by sport fishing and hunting]]
[[Category:Subspecies of brown bear]]