https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnIAokDszXo
I often heard stories about wild Bears in Alaska as my Uncle was a Guide there. So I’ve heard some Bear stories that were 100+ years old.
I also learned of the “Short Faced Bear” that was the terror of the ice for folks on the Bearing Straite.
I dont beleive things in nature simply go “extinct” per se. I believe they adapt by interbreeding and they also can move anywhere the hunting is better. The same folks who will tell you that the “Short Faced Bear” went extinct will tell you Humans killed all the Wolly Mamoths because of hunting pressure.
There’s an awful lot of arctic to hide in and when they were crossing there was even more ice.