[Animals] The history of the Mexican gray bear: the endemic species of Durango that became extinct due to excessive hunting

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Also known as the 'silver bear', the Mexican gray bear was hunted to extinction as a 'plague' to its northern neighbors. This is his story.
The Mexican gray bear dominated the north of the country. Durango, Chihuahua and Sonora were the territories where this brown bear subspecies developed for thousands of years. The records of Mexican Biodiversity, the agency that records the po[CENSORED]tions of species in Mexico, document that it also reached the south of the current United States.

After inhabiting the forests of this area in North America for millennia, humans decided that the Mexican grizzly bear was a pest that had to be eradicated. And they do it like that. This is the story of its extinction.

What was the Mexican gray bear like?
One of the first records of the species dates from 1914. Also known by its scientific name, Ursus aretos nelsonis, the Mexican gray bear weighed more than 300 kilos when it reached adulthood. On all fours, it reached a meter in height. When he stood upright, he could be up to 180 centimeters tall.

The historical records that are preserved of the species indicate that it was very similar to the grizzly bear, typical of natural reserves in the United States. This made it, according to Mexican Biodiversity, one of the "largest land animals in the Mexican Republic."

In the interior of the country, it inhabited the grasslands and mountainous areas brimming with pine trees. It is estimated that it began to po[CENSORED]te northern Mexico towards the end of the last ice age, approximately 10,000 years ago. Like other groups of the species, it was classified as an omnivorous mammal. That is, it fed on plants and animals. In his daily diet, the following foods were included:

leaves and fruits
forest insects
smaller animals
Carrion
Despite its millennial presence in the region, it took a few decades for humans to completely exterminate it. Considered a nuisance to livestock and irresponsible human activities, the Mexican grizzly bear preyed on lead and deadly toxins.

A rapacious campaign against the species
When humans venture into wilderness, we inevitably encounter life forms that have been there. Many times, for billions of years. Although the stay of the Mexican gray bear in the north of the country was not that old, the reality is that the species did arrive there before us.

Even so, in favor of cattle ranching and urban expansion, the local government consented to the indiscriminate hunting of the gray bear. Not only that: it was promoted during the 1960s that they be poisoned en masse. A similar process was submitted to the gray wolf, which had the same fate.

Towards the end of the decade, the federal government granted both species the status of 'protected species'. However, the paperwork was slower than human activity in the field.

https://www.ngenespanol.com/animales/oso-gris-mexicano-por-que-se-extinguio/