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The features of the Nandi Bear are indeed bear-like, from its general appearance to its movement. There is also the fact that it has been said to stand upright, which bears can indeed do.
As stated earlier bears are now absent from Africa, there is however one African bear that fits the general description of the Nandi Bear. The Atlas bear was a small brown bear known to have lived up until the Paleolithic. Its description is like that of the Nandi Bear, it was rather small for a bear and is thought to have had a fur of a dark color.
Some reports of the Nandi Bear have it waiting in a tree for a possible victim to pass by. Being a small bear the Atlas bear could easily perform these deeds. One thing holding back the likelihood of the Atlas bear being the Nandi Bear is the fact that its range was in Northern Africa. It is also the only bear to have a fossil record in Africa, so an Atlas bear surviving in East Africa seems highly unlikely.
It could of course be an unknown species of bear, however there is no fossil record to back up this fact. There still is the chance that an ancient species of bear could yet to be discovered as both a fossil and a living animal, science will have to keep looking before we know for sure.
