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Canyon Bear

The Canyon Bear (Ursus umbra sicarius), dubbed as the "Night Terror" by many hikers, is a subspecies of a now extinct striped bear, distant cousin of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) that generally lives in the uplands of western North America. This subspecies is thought to descend from Ussuri brown bears which crossed to Alaska from the plains of Northern Manchuria 150,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 18,000 years ago.[1] Canyon bears are normally solitary, active animals. It's the only subspecies of the brown bear that has settled in the Grand Canyon Area. For this reason it has undergone a transformation that has baffled scientist for years. Upon seeing the beast the first feature that jumps out are its massive powerful front paws, the arms have developed in a way completely different from any other member of the Ursus family, the front legs and chest cavity are a good 20% bigger than its cousin the Grizzly bear while the rear legs are short and scrawny by comparison. It is believed that this is due to the animal's strong climbing abilities, the strong upper body is used mainly for climbing while the short legs are used for direction. Claw size can measure up to 19", though some stories claim as much as 25". It's eyes have fully developed for night vision as this creature is a night hunter and has fully adapted to hunt at night where it preys on the victim's disorientation. Bear has been dubbed the "Night Terror" based mostly on legends of hikers that claim to have heard the beast at night. Some blame many of the disappearances in the Canyon on this animals innate ability for the stealth kill. Being a night hunter the Canyon preys on its victim's lack of coordination/vision and it is believed that though it can opt to have a diet very similar to the Grizzly or other members of the Ursus family this bear prefers the taste of human flesh ever since the famous famine of 1935 on which part of the pack, on the verge of starvation, opted to feed on the flesh of a group of hikers from Asia minor. The legend says that from then on the bear has been fixated on human flesh, like the old canyon saying goes: "when the bear roars a turk croaks".

Only one Canyon Bear has been captured since its discovery back in 1882 by Edmund Radcliffe III