inessential by Brent Simmons

Bears, the once and future threat

CNN: Cave an Ice Age time capsule:

The bear that left a 3-foot-long claw mark in an Ice Age clay bank was the largest bear species ever to walk the earth, about 6 feet tall at the shoulder and capable of moving its 1,800 pounds up to 45 miles per hour in a snarling dash for prey.

The claw mark by the extinct giant short-faced bear still looks fresh today in a southwest Missouri cave that some scientists are calling a national treasure—an Ice Age time capsule sealed for thousands of years.