Bears
Grizzly Bear Power and Beauty
© Wild by Nature Gallery
Bears are heavyset mammals that constitute the family Ursidae in the order Carnivora. Most bears live in Europe, Asia, and North America. Bears usually inhabit rough, forested lands that provide food and cover; polar bears, however, frequent the treeless, icy wastes of the Arctic.
Bears have a massive, long-snouted head and a stumpy tail. Short, thick legs end in large, five-toed feet, and each toe is armed with a long, heavy claw. The powerful jaws are lined with wide, flat-topped molars for grinding food; bears also have four long canine, or eye, teeth. Most have loose skin and long, shaggy fur. They have an excellent sense of smell but poor vision and hearing. more info
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Whimsical Wood Bears from Big Sky Carvers
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See Grizzlies & Moose!
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Grizzly Bear stroll at Sunset
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TYPES
Seven genera and about nine species of bear exist. American black bears, Euarctos americanus, are about 1.5-1.8 m (5-6 ft) long and weigh 90-150 kg (200-330 lb). They once lived throughout most of North America, but hunting and agriculture drove them into heavily forested areas, where about 80,000 survive. Brown individuals, called cinnamon bears, often are born into the same litter as black cubs.
Brown bears, Ursus arctos, include the largest of the land carnivores, the Alaska brown bears, or kodiak bears, which may reach a length of 3 m (10 ft) and weigh up to 780 kg (1,700 lb). They live on the shores and islands of Alaska. The European brown bear was once common throughout the continent but is now found only in mountainous areas of the USSR, Scandinavia, and southern Europe. It may be 1.8 m (6 ft) long and weigh 230 kg (500 lb). The smaller Asiatic brown bears include the tan-colored Syrian bear and the snow bear of the Himalayas. Grizzly bears are closely related to the Alaska brown bears. They may be 2.8 m (9 ft) long and weigh 410 kg (900 lb). Their name is derived from the whitish tips of their brown fur. Grizzlies once roamed from Mexico to Alaska but today are found only in a few national parks in the American West. Some authorities recognize the grizzly and the Alaska brown bear as two species distinct from U. arctos, which includes the brown bears of the Old World.
CHARACTERISTICS
Bears are solitary animals. The breeding season is in summer, after which each individual prepares for winter. This is especially important for the pregnant female, whose cubs will be born during the winter sleep. All bears, however, eat heavily during summer and autumn to store fat for winter.
A bear's winter sleep is not true hibernation, since the body temperature remains high and the animal emerges from the den to walk about on mild winter days. The female gives birth to from 1 to 4 cubs at a time, with a litter every 2 years. The cubs stay with their mother for a year or two, and she defends them against all intruders, including humans and sometimes cannibalistic male bears. Like humans but unlike most other animals, bears are plantigrade; that is, they walk with the sole and five toes of each foot almost flat on the ground. Most animals walk on their toes. Bears look clumsy, but they can run up to 40 km (25 m) per hour. Many are powerful swimmers, and most can climb trees. The polar bear has fur on the soles of its feet; this keeps it from slipping on ice.
Of all bears, the polar bear is the strictest carnivore. It eats seals, walrus, fish, caribou, and beached whales, and has been known to graze on grass and seaweed. The Alaska brown bear will eat almost anything, including deer, cattle, and fish. Other bears tend to be omnivorous, eating fruits, roots, berries, and other plant matter, either by choice or when meat and grubs are unavailable. Most bears are known to be fond of honey.
BEARS AND HUMANS
Since prehistoric times, humans have hunted bears for their meat, bone, sinew, fur, and fat. Favorite ornaments of many primitive peoples are bear teeth and claws. The bear has been made the center of myths and legends by the Finno-Ugric peoples of northern Eurasia, the American Indians, and the Ainu of Japan. People today must often be reminded that all bears are short-tempered and dangerous; a bear can kill a human with one swipe of its paw.
As agriculture and urbanization have advanced, bear habitats have disappeared, and some species are now almost extinct. Over hunting has depleted stock in many areas.
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