Ursus spelaeus toe bone (37,1 mm)

Pleistocene age (approx. 35,000 - 70,000 years old) Ursus spelaeus partial phalangeal bone. Origin of the bear bone: Austria, Mixnitz, Stmk. Dimensions of the bone approx.: 37.1 mm x 21.8 mm x 14.5 mm. Weight approx.: 7 grams + packaging. The bone is in natural condition, not preserved.

During the extraordinary period after the First World War, the cave sediments around Mixnitz began to be mined due to their Hungarian phosphate content. Due to guano (phosphate) mining, a huge amount of cave bear bones came to the surface. The amount of waste rock extracted from the Dragon Cave is estimated at 24,000 tons, of which approx. 500 tons were cave bear bones. Of the 500 tons of bones, 4,000 kg were sent to museums and universities for scientific processing. The remaining debris and bones were used to build a railway embankment leading to the cave to transport the mined layers of guano with a high phosphate content. After the mining was completed, the rails were removed and the several km long railway embankment was a popular place for fossil collectors for a long time. Today, the mountain is a protected area, so further collections are not possible. The cave bear is a typical example of an animal that had an ecological relationship with caves. The cave bear spent its winter hibernation in caves, gave birth there and in many cases died there. Death could often overtake it in the winter months. The caves provided very good conditions for the preservation of bones. The huge amount of bones was left behind by relatively small bear families over the millennia.