Giant Short-faced Bear

Imagine coming face-to-face with Arctodus—the largest meat-eating mammal on Earth during the Ice Age. Almost twice the size of today's brown bears, it stood about 13 feet tall (3.96 m) and weighed a ton (907 kg)! Like most bears, Arctodus ate what it could find: meat from animals it hunted or scavenged, as well as berries, nuts, and other foraged foods. It could have sniffed out supper as far as six miles away, and its powerful jaws could have easily crushed bone to obtain the rich marrow inside.

The Field Museum's collection of fossil mammals is an important global library, and includes the most complete and best-preserved specimen of Arctodus. You can stand beside the mounted skeleton of this towering giant within the Evolving Planet exhibition. Scientists have discovered some interesting facts about The Field Museum's Arctodus. Bone scars and arthritis indicate it suffered from diseases similar to today's tuberculosis and syphilis.