Bears

Used in:

• 2 Nephi 9:122 [21:7]
• 2 Nephi 12:93 [30:13]

What does the Book of Mormon state?

• These are a repetition of Isaiah 11:7
• The Book of Mormon does not state that bears existed in the New World

At face value - Did bears exist in the New World?

• Yes

Statement

• "The bears of Mexico, are black and extremely fierce . . ."
Present State of the Spanish Colonies, Chapter XIX, Climate of Spanish America - Animal and Vegetable Kingdom, 1810
• https://archive.org/stream/presentstateofsp02walt/presentstateofsp02walt_djvu.txt page 109

Assessment

• Black bears are endemic to Mesoamerica (northern areas)
• Spectacle bears are endemic to Latin America