WOW! Check out this black bear skull we came across inside this Tennessee cave. After falling more than 100 feet to the bottom of this pit, the bear was still alive as it left claw marks in the mud walls as it desperately tried to climb its way back out. #bears #Tennessee | TAG Caver

Here’s a black bear paw from 17,000 years ago almost perfectly preserved in Tumbling Creek Cave here in the Ozarks. This bear was alive during the Pleistocene era at a time when the Giant Short-Faced Bear (Arctodus simus) roamed our region and made even the largest black bears look small. Hear more about what else you can find in our caves and karst topography on our 2 latest episodes (145 & 146). Have you listened yet? 🐻 #caves #missouri #ozarks #bear | The Ozark Podcast