Latest and highest fossil record of cave bears (Ursus ex gr. spelaeus) in Slovakian Western Carpathians

New research of the Izabela Textorisová Cave in the Veľká Fatra Mts. and the Javorinka Cave in the Vysoké Tatry Mts. yielded important data on Western Carpathians cave bear palaeopopulations. The radiometric dating of cave bear fossils from the Javorinka Cave (c. 51,000 14C BP) represents one of the oldest documented record of cave bears in Slovakia. The site is also the highest documented occurrence of cave bears with an altitude more than 1500 m. The radiocarbon dates from the Izabela Textorisová Cave (30,181–30,190 cal. BP) represent the last known occurrence of cave bears in the Slovakian Western Carpathians.