Flora of Ireland. Ireland is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region, a floristic region within the Holarctic.
The previous heavyweight was a North American giant short-faced bearâa related extinct speciesâthat weighed up to 2,500 pounds (1,134 kilograms). The largest bear on record in modern times was a 2,200-pound (998-kilogram) polar bear shot in Alaska in the 19th century.
Paleontologist Leopoldo Soibelzon holds an upper arm bone of the giant bear next to an elephant's. Photograph courtesy Leopoldo Soibelzon. There's a new titleholder for the biggest, baddest bear ever found.