Arctodus simus

The Giant North American Short Faced Bear

I am certainly not alone in being fascinated by this amazing creature and by my desire to see it as it existed in life. Arctodus simus, also known as the Giant North American Short Faced Bear was the largest North American land carnivore during the Pleistocene. In life the largest of these bear could have looked a person in the eyes while walking on all fours. Amazing!

I sculpted Arctodus using the same technique I employed when reconstructing Smilodon fatalis. In order to ensure the accuracy of the size and proportion of my reconstruction I first purchased a skull cast of Arctodus simus. I then used this skull cast as the internal armature for the head of the reconstruction. The major muscle groups of the skull that are large enough to help inform the shape of the animals face and head were first sculpted in. The size of the rostrum was dictated by the length and width of the maxilla of the skull coupled with observations of the spectacled bear, Arctodus’s closest living relative. The shape of the nose, lips and ears were also based upon observations of the spectacled bear.

The resin casting was fitted with 24mm glass bear taxidermy eyes and was painted again using the spectacled bear as a guide. In American Black Bears, in Grizzly Bears and in the South American Spectacled Bear there is a wide variation in coat color and in color patterns. Natural variation in terms of size, sexual dimorphism, body fat and color would have of course, expected in Arctodus simus as well.

Thanks to the technique used in sculpting Arctodus I believe that this sculpture is an extremely accurate reconstruction of this amazing creature and is a work of fine art I am proud to offer.