The evolutionary development of today’s bears and raccoons began roughly 30 million years ago, at the start of the Oligocene epoch. Both developed from a family of small mammals, from which martens and canidae are also descended.

The first ever members of the raccoon family, which appeared at least 25 million years ago, were initially native to Eurasia, later migrated to North America. In the Old World, all but the lesser panda became extinct.

The family of real bears (Ursidae) can be traced back to one ancestor in the Miocene epoch 20 to 15 million years ago, the Ursavus. The short-faced bear subfamily, of which only the spectacled bear remains today, developed on the American continent from this omnivore which was roughly the size of a wolf. The giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus), which probably died out only about 10,000 years ago, was a particularly impressive example of this subfamily.

The most well-known prehistoric member of the Ursidae family was the so-called cave bear. This imposing predator from the last ice age was larger than today’s grizzly bear. Around 300,000 years ago Ursus spelaeus appeared on the scene in Europe – leaving behind numerous bones and teeth. Judging from its teeth, the giant bear lived almost exclusively on a vegetarian diet. This may have been the reason for its extinction as it could only survive as long as huge amounts of plant food were available. The smallest of changes to the climate and consequently to vegetation could have proved catastrophic for the cave bear.