Post by kekistani on Feb 8, 2020 14:02:00 GMT 5
Terminology: Milne (Mill-Nay), ?Arctotherium
Meaning of name: "Milne" is apparently the Campas name for this creature (no relation to Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne!), "Bear beast" in Greek, from Arctos- and -Therium.
Where: at least, Uyacali river, Eastern Peru, mentioned near the rivers Tamango and Pista as well as the Cordillera.
Sighted only once in 1946 by explorer and airman Leonard Clark, the Milne is apparently a gigantic bear. The pelt is black, and the feet enormous-each spoor was measured at 14'' long. The animal was seen ripping into a dead tree stump, implying a diet that incorporated insects-not unusual,as bears are omnivorous. When startled the Milne became defensive, charging its aggressors. The animal was stated to be quite surprising to be found in the amazon, as Leonard Clark expected a giant bear like this to be seen in Alaska, not the Amazonian jungle.
History: South America is, in fact, home to bears. Paddington bear is surprisingly accurate for a children's book character-the South American Bear (Tremarctos Ornatus) is known from the andes mountains of Peru and Ecuador. Not known by many is the fact that South and North America were host to a whole family of these bears, the Tremarctinae, which included the North American Arctodus and South American Arctotherium, along with a Floridian form of Spectacled bear , Tremarctos Floridianus. The largest of this family, Arctotherium, could reach the very respectable size of potentially 1500 KG (though 1000KG is usually considered a more likely upper-maximum estimate). These "short faced bears" Were and are omnivorous, eating plants, meat, and insects readily. During the age of exploration, spurned on the by the vastness of patagonia and the andes and the potential new species they may harbor, scientists considered it a likely possibility that Arctotherium had escaped extinction, going so far as to have this theory mentioned in the famous 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Much like the idea of surviving Patagonian Mylodon and Toxodon, this was based on the creature's recent existence in geological time (13000 years ago) and the fact that the cordillera were and still are very rugged terrain preventing exploration. Unlike the previous two theories, which died out (for the time being, both were resurrected in the more recent past and in different places) due to lack of evidence, the idea of a giant tremarctine bear eking out a living in the andes or the Western Amazon alongside its smaller bretheren was supported by the finding of large spoor in the cordillera. The scientist Francisco Moreno received reports of "bear-like tracks in remote parts of the Cordillera, which he [thought] may imply that a species of Arctotherium still lives in Patagonia". Do note that Moreno heavily opposed Amenhingo's "Neomylodon" (extant Mylodon) theory. Julian Waag, a topographer, found the tracks of a huge beast, which he supposed to be a bear. Most famous is the aforementioned Encyclopaedia Britannica entry on Patagonia, which in a section about the past fauna of Patagonia states "It would not be surprising if this latter animal (referring to Arctotherium) were still in existence, for footprints, which may be attributed to it, have been observed on the borders of the rivers Tamango and Pista." Finally, such an animal was seen in 1946 by explorer Leonard Clark in Peru.
Sightings: The Milne was only seen once by westerners, on Leonard Clark's 1946 expedition through the Andes. Clark was on the Uyacali river in peru, and on the riverbank near his camp he found the footprints of what appeared to be a massive human, 14'' long. Clark was obviously taken aback by this and wished to find the mystery beast. The next day, after they set off down the river, a native guide spotted a large animal in the treeline. It turned out to be a large black bear, larger than any in South America, tearing into a dead tree stump, presumably in pursuit of insects. Clark stated that no westerner had felled such a beast with their gun, and went on to write that the animal was called "Milne" by the Campas people. A porter slapped his paddle on the water, startling the bear. The bear dashed into the water, before turning to try and board the raft, though if out of anger or out of need for a landing place Clark was unsure. Clark pulled out his Colt revolver and shot the beast in the eye as it gripped the raft. Clark wanted to skin the bear, as he was the first to kill an individual of the species, but the bear was too large and the blood had already attracted Piranhas to the corpse. Reluctantly, Clark released the carcass and continued downriver. Curiously enough, Clark also mentioned another cryptid bear, the Argentine red bear, which he believed related to the beast he killed.
Clark's account goes as such:
"We had not gone far when one of the sharp-eyed Indians saw a movement in the wall of trees near us on the left bank, and the mystery of the "human" tracks was cleared up. To our amazement, a tremendous black bear was standing, clawing apart a rotten tree stump from which cascaded ants. This type of bear has not yet been seen or yet fallen to the gun of any explorer. It is called by the Campas milne. It might be related to a rare bear inhabiting the lower eastern Andean ranges, said by the Campas to be red in color.
It was a magnificent sight–something one might expect to find in Alaska, but scarely in the tangled jungles of the Amazon. Out swift and silent approach, which swept us helplessly toward the big animal, was breathtaking. I made no effort–in spite of Jorge and the others' yells–to use my pistol. It would be a poor weapon from a wobbly craft against a wounded and charging bear. Before I could stop him, José slapped his paddle sharpy against the surface of the river, imitating the crack of an Indian flintlock. The bear lost all curiosity in the ants and their larvae, and with a grunt leapt into the water and began swimming across the river just in front of us. Seeing our two rafts drifting nearby, perhaps thinking them convenient to crawl upon, or else being angry, the beast let out a bellow and started straight toward my raft. The bear was only three feet away when the crew leaped overboard on the off-side. The craft steadied down a bit and I drew a bead with the Colt on the bear's nearest eye, and squeezed off. It was killed instantly, but while I was trying to drag it aboard, a swam of the black variety of paña appeared, and at the sight of the three-pound, oval-shaped devils leaping out of the water, for their numbers were incredible, I let go its paw." (The Rivers Ran East, 1953)
It was a magnificent sight–something one might expect to find in Alaska, but scarely in the tangled jungles of the Amazon. Out swift and silent approach, which swept us helplessly toward the big animal, was breathtaking. I made no effort–in spite of Jorge and the others' yells–to use my pistol. It would be a poor weapon from a wobbly craft against a wounded and charging bear. Before I could stop him, José slapped his paddle sharpy against the surface of the river, imitating the crack of an Indian flintlock. The bear lost all curiosity in the ants and their larvae, and with a grunt leapt into the water and began swimming across the river just in front of us. Seeing our two rafts drifting nearby, perhaps thinking them convenient to crawl upon, or else being angry, the beast let out a bellow and started straight toward my raft. The bear was only three feet away when the crew leaped overboard on the off-side. The craft steadied down a bit and I drew a bead with the Colt on the bear's nearest eye, and squeezed off. It was killed instantly, but while I was trying to drag it aboard, a swam of the black variety of paña appeared, and at the sight of the three-pound, oval-shaped devils leaping out of the water, for their numbers were incredible, I let go its paw." (The Rivers Ran East, 1953)
Explanations: There are obviously only 2 explanations, both of which are tremarctine bears. On account of the locale, coloration, and behavior, the Andean Bear Tremarctos ornatus is a good candidate. They can occur in almost all-black coloration and can be quite fierce when startled. The main discrepancy is size: The print left by the Milne is 14 inches, which, if we presume a hind print based on the supposedly human-like appearance, is 2 inches longer than that of the grizzly! It rivals the Kodiak's in size. Andean bears are not that big, either: 5-6 feet tall on 2 legs, and 250 pounds, much smaller than anything from Alaska, as compared by Clark. The spectacled bear is also quick to frighten and bolt into the trees or up a tree as opposed to charging into the water, toward its antagonists. Clark was also confident that the animal was not known to westerners. The name does not fit with any of the names applied to the Andean bear, either. Given that this was in 1946, the Spectacled bear was already relatively well known to those in South America. Due to this, some have favored a surviving Arctotherium as an explanation. Either way, the story entails an extraordinary encounter with an abnormally large south american bear, be it a modern or relict Tremarctine. Such a large animal living unmolested in the great amazonian expanse is not entirely implausible, as proven by the modern South American bear itself.
