RECENT HISTORY OF THE BROWN BEAR IN THE MAGHREB

Bones of the brown bear (Ursus arctos, Mammalia, Carnivora) found in a cave of the Akouker massif (Djurdjura, Algeria) have been dated accor ding to the C-14 method as belonging to the historical times (420-600 A.D.). The bone and teeth measurements correspond to a small-sized ani mal, the smallest ever found in the Maghreb. A review of fossil bears in the Quaternary faunas of North Africa clearly shows that the area o f distribution, which was initially wide, shrank at the end of the Upp er Pleistocene. The bears had temporarily taken ro mountainous areas d ifficult to access. The bone remains discovered up to now prove that t he brown bear was represented by individuals or populations showing a large diversity of size. ((C) Academie des sciences / Elsevier, Paris. ).