Members of the Hiking and Speleological Society ‘Vučja Stopa’ found the archaeological remains of an extinct species of cave bear in the Bršljenica cave near Foča.
Speleologists from Foča point out that they came up to this significant discovery in January, during a speleological exploration of the Bršljenica cave located in the canyon of river Bistrica, and the scientific confirmation came from the Center for Karst and Speleology Sarajevo.
‘Besides bones, we found a large number of skulls and parts of the skeletons of other animals. In another cave, near the Bršljenica cave, we found fragments of ceramics, which were sent to the experts in Sarajevo for detailed analysis’, said the president of the ‘Vučja Stopa’ Society Ognjen Matović.
This society also notes that the Bršljenica cave is one of the most beautiful caves within the Foča municipality which is rich in cascades, and has never been speleologically explored before.
Remains of the cave bear were previously being found in the Kuk cave, in the Kalinovik municipality, and this is the first discovery in the Foča municipality.
Speleologists note that the bear species whose remains have been found, and who was bigger than today’s bears for one-third, became extinct 20 000 years ago.
