The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 27,500 years ago.
Both the name "cave" and the scientific name spelaeus derive from the fact that fossils of this species were mostly found in caves, indicating this species spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which only uses caves for hibernation. Consequently, in the course of time, whole layers of bones, almost entire skeletons, were found in many caves.
Read more about Cave Bear: History of Cave Bear Discoveries, Cave Bear Worship
Famous quotes containing the words cave and/or bear:
“The whole cut impressed me as if it were a cave with its stalactites laid open to the light.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Yet, if the pupil be of a texture to bear it, the best university that can be recommended to a man of ideas is the gauntlet of the mobs.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)