Deviation Actions
Description
My entry for the "Earth Life on Mars" monthly contest of the Speculative Evolution Group, I hope it's good 
MAN, I got SOOO many ideas for this world
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When man was first able to arrive to Mars in 2023, he was able to find scant evidence that the dead planet was once not so dead and was little a smaller sister of Earth.
When he realized this, man had planned to make this dead planet alive again.
But it was not easy, as it took man centuries to revive Mars.
Through unknown means, scientists were able to "restart" the red planet's molten heart, to have it rotate to create a magnetic field to protect from the solar wind.
After the magnetic field arose, the planet became warmer, the skies became blue, and liquid water flowed through the ancient streams and rejuvenated the long-lost sea.
When waters filled in ancient streams and the sky, man then brought planted the lichens, bacteria, and plants (such as plants from Rocky Mountains of North America to the Tibetan Plateau of Central Asia) from Earth, engineered to deal with the low gravity. After centuries of planting and growing, the air (while thin and cool) was able to give man the air he needs.
After the air was oxygenated, man then brought animals, large and small. He first brought creatures of the air, such as insects and birds, to spread the seeds and pollen of the plants.
He then brought in creatures of the water, from fish to marine mammals, to fill the waters.
Then, he brought the herbivores, from the small pikas and marmosets to the vast herds of yaks and bactrian camels, of the land to graze and browse on fruitful lands of the once red Mars.
After the herds of beast have reached to massive sizes, Man reluctantly brought in the predators. From Tibetan foxes to the Snow leopards, he has brought predators that controlled the populations of herbivores.
After centuries to millennia, the creatures of changed and adapted to the planet's low gravity and thrived.
While some were dangerous and fearful, none of matched the size, the danger, and the fierceness of Mars top terrestrial predator:
The Martian Bear or Ursus ares, in honor of the Greek name of the Roman god of war, Mars.
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It's ancestors originated from the mountains of the Himalayas and were said to be the creatures that inspired stories of the Yeti or "Abominable Snowman". Genetic tests have shown that this bear species was the result of breeding between an ancient strain of polar bear with a mountain-dwelling brown bear, long before man ventured into the stars.
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As generations went by, the bear changed. Due to the low gravity, grew taller (6 1/2 foot at the shoulder and between 12 and 13 feet when standing on it's hind legs) than any other bear, living or extinct. But while the bear grew taller, they unfortunately developed weaker bones and muscles. So much so that if they went their ancestor's home-world, they couldn't even support their own weight.
Then, by some accident of nature or purpose by man, the bear population developed a mutation that altered the myostatin (a protein essential for muscle differentiation and growth), similar to the "doubled muscled" mutation that the herds of wild Martian yaks (which were humorously called "Zitidar" by some literature-loving locals). While it couldn't be seen due to the bear's fur, this mutation gives it more muscular appearance and makes it as strong as Earth bear, in portion. If a bear developed this mutation back on Earth, it would've made it too heavy and would have skeletal problems due to Earth's gravity.
Another interesting effect of Mar's low gravity is a certain of behavior. On Earth, a bear would stand on it's hindlegs for under a minute and would walk on a very short distance. But on Mars, thanks to the lower gravity and "doubled muscle" mutation, the bear can now stand on it's hindlegs for half an hour and could even walk upright for a couple yards. This behavior seems to be a greater advantage on the flat Martian steppes and plains, so that the bear could pick up the smell of food in the air better than any Earth bear and could walk to a different location to pick up another smell or smell the same scent in a different location, without losing the scent.
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Being an apex predator, the bear would hunt the vast herds of large herbivores, such as Martian Yaks and Bactrian or Martian Camels (occasionally called "Thoats" by the same literature-loving locals). Along with large game, the species will also feast on insects, small birds, and mammals. The populations of bears the live near lakes, rivers, and the Martian sea would feast on a range of fish and marine mammals, from seals to walruses. While being a predator, it's diet also consists of plant matter, such as grass, berries, roots, tubers, and moss.
Along with food from the wild, the Martian bear would also feast on the livestock (chickens, yaks, fish, camels, etc.) and crops (wheat, corn, etc.) of the Martian humans. They also have a fondness for the honey from bee farms, whether in jars or in the hives.
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While far from it's ancestral homeland, the Martian bear seems to have developed it's own myth on Mars. With mirage effects, lack of oxygen, and the bear's more bipedal behavior, Jasoomians (the local name for tourists from Earth) tend to mistake the bears for giant white "apes". This tends to happen so much that Martian locals would joke to tourists about "Out there, nature has gone ape!"
Whether ape or not, the Martian bear is nonetheless one of the most dangerous and impressive land predator on all of Mars.