|
For other meanings, see Bear (disambiguation). A bear is a large mammal of the order Carnivora, family Ursidae. The adjective, ursine, is used to describe things of bearlike nature.
Physical attributes
Common characteristics of bears include dense fur, a short tail, excellent senses of smell and hearing, five un-retractable claws, and long, shaggy fur. The claws are primarily used for digging and are relatively dull, when compared to those of other carnivores such as lions or tigers, due to the fact they claws do not retract. Despite the fact that the diet of most bears, with the exception of polar bears, is 80-90 percent vegetarian, bears are classified as carnivores. Even though the claws of the bear might not cause as much damage to the tissue of their prey, due to their dullness, the actual paw swipe itself can be lethal. Bears can put in excess of two-thirds of their bodyweight behind a paw swipe. This, combined with the exceptionally powerful shoulder muscles, can enable bears to shatter bone with a single paw swipe. A large enough bear could easily break the back of a 2,000 pound cow with a single swipe.
Bears have a large body with powerful limbs. They are capable of standing up on their hind legs. They have broad paws, long snouts, and round ears. Their teeth are used for defense and tools and depend on the diet of the bear. Their claws are used for ripping, digging, and catching.
Types of Bear Asiatic Black Bear: This medium-sized, black-colored bear has a lightish muzzle and ears which appear large in proportion to the rest of its head, especially when compared with other species of bears. There is a distinct white patch on the chest , which is sometimes in the shape of a V, and white on the chin. A brown color phase also occurs.
There is limited information available on these bears, but total length of adults 4 to 6.5 feet and stand between 4 and 6 feet in high, when standing on their hind legs. and . Adult males range from 100 to 200 kilograms (220 to 440 pounds) and adult females from 50 to 125 kilogra ms (110 to 275 pounds).
Asiatic black bears live predominantly in forested areas, especially in hills and mountainous areas. In summer, they have been reported at altitudes over 3,000 meters (9,900 feet), descending to lower elevations during winter. Apparently, they den for winter sleep in the northern parts of their range. It has been suggested that in the southern limits of their range, where it is quite hot, they do not undergo winter sleep, but this has not been confirmed.
Asiatic black bears have been reported to feed on a wide range of foods, including fruits, bees' nests, insects, invertebrates, small vertebrates, and carrion. They occasionally kill domestic livestock, but the degree to which they prey on wild hoofed mammals in unknown. In fall they frequently make crude leafy feeding platforms in nut-bearing trees.
American Black Bears: This medium-sized bear is usually black with a brown muzzle, lacks a shoulder hump, and often has a white patch on the chest. Although black is the predominant color, chocolate and cinnamon brown color phases are also common, which often results in people confusing them with brown bears. Black bears with white and pale-blue coats (known respectively as Kermode and glacier bears) also occur in small numbers. Kermode bears are found along the north-central coast of British Co lumbia, and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Black bears have strong, highly curved claws and the profile of the face is convex when compared with the more concave profile of a brown bear.
Adult male black bears range from about 4 to 6.5 feet in length and about 4 to 6 feet in height, while standing on their hind legs, and weigh 60 to 300 kilograms (130 to 660 pounds). Some have been known to stand Females measure from 4 to 6.5 feet in length and weigh 40 to 80 kilograms (90 to 175 pounds). Black bears vary considerably in size, depending on the quality of the food available. Males may be from about 20 to 60 percent larger than females. At birth, cubs weigh 225 to 330 grams (7 to 11 ounces).
Black bears are normally found only in forested areas, but within such habitat they are highly adaptable. They live in both arid and moist forests, from sea level to over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet). Historically, black bears are thought to have stayed away from open habitat because of the risk of predation by brown bears. Black bears have become established in the tundra of northern Labrador, a region where there are no brown bears.
Black bears are omnivorous and feed on a wide range of foods, depending on what is available. Insects (particularly ants), nuts, berries, acorns, grasses, roots, and other vegetation form the bulk of their diet in most areas. Blac k bears can also be efficient predators of deer fawns and moose calves. In some areas of coastal British Columbia and Alaska they also feed on spawning salmon.
Brown Bears: The brown bear (sometimes called a grizzly in North America) is a large animal, usually dark brown in color, though it can vary from a light creamy shade through to black. The long guard hairs over the shoulders and back are often tipped with white which, from a distance, gives a grizzled appearance. The brown bear is characterized by a distinctive hump on the shoulders, a slightly dished profile to the face, and long claws on the front paws.
There is considerable variability in the size of brown bears from different populations, depending on the food available. Determining representative weights of specific populations is also difficult as there are seasonal considerations to take into account-for instance, some bears can weigh twice as much in the fall as they might weigh in spring. Adult males may stand between 5 and 8 feet in height and weigh 135 to 390 kilograms (300 to 860 pounds) compared with 95 to 205 kilograms (205 to 455 pounds) for female s. At birth, cubs weigh 340 to 680 grams (11 ounces to 1 pound 6 ounces). The largest bears are found on the west coast of British Columbia and Alaska, and on offshore islands along coastal Alaska, such as Kodiak and Admiralty. There, males average ove r 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and females over 200 kilograms (440 pounds). It isn't uncommon for large males to stand in excess of 10 feet in height while on their hind legs and weigh over 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds). The largest specimen ever, officially, recorded stood over 13 feet in height and weighed 752 kilograms (1,656 pounds). Brown bears from the interior ranges of North America, Europe, and the subArctic are roughly two-thirds the size of their Alaskan and Kamchatkan cousins.
Brown bears occupy a wide range of habitats including dense forests, subalpine mountain areas, and tundra. They were once abundant on the central plains of North America, but have since been exterminated.
Brown bears mainly eat vegetation such as grasses, sedges, bulbs, and roots. They also eat insects such as ants, fish, and small mammals. In some areas they have become significant predators of large hoofed mammals such as moose, caribou, and elk.
Giant Panda: The sharply contrasting black and white coloration, added to the stocky characteristic shape of a bear, makes the giant panda one of the most recognizable animals in the world. The head, top of the neck and rump are white, whi le small patches of fur around the eyes, the ears, shoulders, front legs, and rear legs are black. When compared with other bears, the head of the giant panda is large in relation to its body. The front paw has six digits as a result of the radial sesamoid, the wrist bone, becoming extended to form an awkward, but functional, opposable thumb. The male genitalia are small and pointed to the rear, which is more similar to the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)than to other bears.
Adult giant pandas range in body length from about 5 to 6 feet. Males are slightly longer than females, have stronger forelegs, and are 10 to 20 percent heavier. In the wild males weigh from 85 to 125 kilograms (190 to 275 pounds), while females range between 70 and 100 kilograms (155 to 220 pounds). At birth, cubs weigh only 85 to 140 grams (3 to 5 ounces).
Giant pandas live at an altitude of between 1,200 and 3,500 meters (4,000 and 11,500 feet) in mountain forests that are characterized by dense stands of bamboo. Home ranges average 8.5 square kilometers (3.3 square miles) for ma les and 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) for females.
More than 99 percent of the food consumed by giant pandas consists of the branches, stems, and leaves of at least 30 species of bamboo, the species eaten varying from region to region. Adults consume 12 to 15 kilograms (26 to 33 po unds) of food per day when feeding on bamboo leaves and stems. However, when feeding on new bamboo shoots, they are capable of eating up to 38 kilograms (84 pounds) per day, which is about 40 percent of their average body weight. Although the proportion is small, pandas also feed to a limited degree on other plants and a small amount of meat. They feed mainly on the ground but are capable of climbing trees as well. They are active mainly at twilight and at night.
Polar Bears: The polar bear is immediately recognizable from the distinctive white color of its fur. The neck of the polar bear is longer than in other species of bears. The head is elongated but the ears are relatively small. The front paws are large and are used like paddles for swimming while the hind legs trail behind. The nose, and the skin underneath the white fur, are black. The soles of the feet have small papillae and vacuoles like suction cups to make them less likely to sli p on the ice.
Along with the Kodiak grizzly, the polar bear is the largest land carnivor in the world. Adult males may range from 7 to 10 feet in height and 300 to 600 kilograms (660 to 1,320 pounds.) Occassionally, a large male will reach in excess of 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds). Females are about half the size of male s and normally weigh 200 to 300 kilograms (440 to 660 pounds). Immediately before entering the maternity den in the fall, the weight of a pregnant adult female can exceed 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) because of the enormous amount of stored fat.
The preferred habitat of polar bears is the annual ice adjacent to the shorelines of the continents and archipelagos throughout the circumpolar Arctic. Wind and currents create cracks in the ice that concentrate the seals they h unt. Although polar bears have been recorded as far north as 88", they rarely enter the zone of heavy multiyear ice of the central polar basin because it is unproductive biologically and there is little to eat. In areas such as Hudson Bay, where the ice melts completely for a few months in the late summer and fall, bears spend the summer on land, resting to conserve energy and waiting for freeze-up. Males tend to remain along the coast, while family groups and subadults go further inland.
Polar bears are the most carnivorous of all the bears and live almost entirely on ringed seals, and to a lesser degree, on bearded seals. They are also known to prey on young walruses and occasionally even capture narwhals and belu gas. In summer, if they are along the coast, they may eat some grass, kelp, or berries, and scavenge on the carcasses of terrestrial or marine mammals.
Sloth Bears: The sloth bear is small and usually black, with a long shaggy coat, especially over the shoulders. Brown and gray hairs may be mixed in with the dark coat, and cinnamon and reddish individuals have also been reported. It has a distinctive whitish or yellowish chest patch in the shape of a wide U, or sometimes a Y if the lower part of the white hairs extend down the chest. The snout is light colored and mobile. The nostrils can be closed voluntarily. It is thought that the reduced hair on the muzzle may be an adaptation for coping with the defensive secretions of termites.
Adults tend to reach an average of about 5 feet while standing on their hind legs. Males weigh 80 to 140 kilograms (175 to 310 pounds), and females weigh 55 to 95 kilograms (120 to 210 pounds).
Sloth bears are found in forested areas and in grasslands, predominantly at lower elevations. They apparently favor drier forests and have been reported to prefer areas with rocky outcrops.
Sloth bears feed extensively on termites and have special adaptations for doing this: The naked lips are capable of protruding, and the inner pair of upper incisors are missing, which forms a gap through which termites can be sucke d. The sucking noises made by feeding in this manner can apparently be heard from over 100 meters (330 feet) away. They also eat eggs, other insects, honeycombs, carrion, and various kinds of vegetation. In Nepal, they eat fruits extensively when in se ason, from March to June.
Spectacled Bear: The spectacled bear is small and dark, ranging in color from black to brown, and a few have a reddish tinge. It has distinctive circular or semicircular creamy white markings on the face around the eyes, reminiscent of specta cles. Lines and patches of white usually extend onto the throat and chest as well. The amount and pattern of the white markings can be quite variable.
There are few measurements available for this bear. However, adults tend to be somewhere around 5 feet on their hind legs and males can be as much as 40 percent larger than females. Males weigh 100 to 155 kilograms (220 t o 340 pounds) and females weigh 64 to 82 kilograms (140 to 180 pounds). At birth, cubs weigh from 300 to 360 grams (10 to 11 1/2 ounces).
Spectacled bears are highly adaptable and are found in a wide range of habitats, including rainforest, cloud forest, dry forest, steppe lands, and coastal scrub desert. Possibly because of loss of habitat and persecution by huma ns, they appear to be more common in heavy forest. They have been reported at altitudes ranging from about 180 to 4,200 meters (600 to 13,800 feet) but prefer moist forests between about 1,800 and 2,700 meters (6,000 and 8,800 feet). No populations have been documented from areas that lack bromeliads and fruits.
Spectacled bears eat a wide variety of foods, including rabbits, mice, birds, berries, grasses, and orchid bulbs, but have a strong preference for the leaves, bases, and hearts of plants of the Bromeliaceae family and the fruits of other plant groups. They will sometimes climb cacti to feed on fruit at the top. Tree nests are often constructed as a platform to feed from fruit-laden branches and to sleep in.
Sun Bear: The sun bear has a short, sleek, black coat. The muzzle is short, and gray to faint orange in color. The crescent-shaped chest patch is yellowish or white. The muzzle is shorter and lighter colored than that of a black bear and in most cases the white area extends above the eyes. The ears are small and round. The paws are large and the soles are naked, which is thought to be an adaptation for climbing trees. The claws are large, curved, and pointed.
This is the smallest of the bears. Adults are about 4 feet while standing on their hind legs and weigh 27 to 65 kilograms (60 to 145 pounds). Males are 10 to 20 percent larger than females.
Sun bears live in lowland tropical rainforests. They are excellent climbers and are thought to sleep in trees.
Sun bears are omnivorous. They have been reported to eat termites, small mammals, birds, and growing tips of palm trees, and the nests of wild bees. At times they cause considerable damage to agricultural crops, such as oil palms.
Habitats Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the Arctic and from forests to snowfields. They are mainly omnivorous, although some have a more specialised diet, such as polar bears. They eat lichens, roots, nuts, and berries. They can also go to a river or other body of water to capture fish. Bears will commonly travel far for food. Hunting times are usually in the dusk or the dawn except when humans are nearby.
Some of the large species, such as the Polar Bear and the Grizzly Bear, are dangerous to humans, especially in areas where they have become used to people. For the most part, bears are shy and are easily frightened of humans. They will, however, defend their cubs ferociously.
Reproductive behaviour The bear's courtship period is very brief. Bears reproduce seasonally, usually after hibernation. Cubs come out toothless, blind, and bald. The cubs, usually born in litters of 1–3, will stay with the mother for six months. They will be fed by milk at first and will start hunting with the mother in three months. Then, they are weaned. However, they will still remain nearby for three years. The cubs are more sexually mature at seven years. Normally, bears are very solitary and will not remain close together for long periods of time. "How Bears and other Beasts may be caught with a Dart."--Fac-simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus (Fifteenth Century).
Other Many bears of northern regions are assumed to hibernate in the winter. They actually don't hibernate. Their body temperature sinks a moderate amount and they can be easily awakened.
Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears from hunters or habitat destruction. Bears in captivity used to be trained to dance, box, or unicycle, but it is now controversial to use animals in this way.
Bears have an average life expectancy of 25–40 years.
Classification - Family Ursidae
- Subfamily Ailuropodinae
- Subfamily Tremarctinae
- Subfamily Ursinae
- Brown Bear, Ursus arctos
- American Black Bear, Ursus americanus
- Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus
- Asiatic Black Bear, Ursus thibetanus
- Auvergne Bear, Ursus minimus (extinct)
- Etruscan Bear, Ursus etruscus (extinct)
- European Cave Bear, Ursus spelaeus (extinct)
- Atlas Bear, Ursus crowtheri (extinct)
- Sloth Bear, Melursus ursinus
- Sun Bear, Helarctos malayanus
The genera Melursus and Helarctos are sometimes included in the genus Ursus. The Asiatic Black Bear and the Polar Bear used to be placed in their own genera, Selenarctos and Thalarctos.
Evolutionary relationships Bears are members of the Order Carnivora, Sub-Order Caniformia, and Family Ursidae. Other members of the Caniformia include wolves and other dog-like mammals (Family Canidae), weasels, skunks, and badgers (Family Mustelidae), raccoons (Family Procyonidae), and walruses (Family Odobenidae), seals (Family Phocidae), and sea lions (Family Otariidae). Although bears are often described as having evolved from a dog-like ancestor, their closest living relatives are the pinnipeds (walruses, seals, and sea lions).
The origins of the bears can be traced back to the raccoon-sized, dog-like Cephalogale from the middle Oligocene and early Miocene (approximately 20-30 million years ago) of Europe. Cephalogale gave rise to a lineage of early bears, the genus Ursavus. This genus radiated in Asia and ultimately gave rise to the first true bears (genus Ursus) in Europe, 5 million years ago. Extinct bear genera includes Arctodus, Agriarctos, Agriotherium, Plionarctos and Indarctos.
Although there has previously been much discussion as to whether the Giant Panda belongs to the bear family or the raccoon family, recent DNA analyses have shown that the Giant Panda is a member of the Family Ursidae and as such is more closely related to other bears. The status of the Red Panda remains uncertain, but many experts, including Wilson and Reeder, classify it as a member of the bear family. Others place it with the racoons in Procyonidae or in its own family, the Ailuridae. The many similarities between the two pandas are thought to represent convergent evolution for feeding primarily on bamboo.
Bears in pop culture Winnie-the-Pooh is a comic character created by A. A. Milne. Yogi Bear is a cartoon character.
In the stock market, bearish describes the stock market going downwards; someone who is bearish is a bear, contrasted to a bull.
In gay culture a bear refers to generally large hairy men.
The bear is sometimes taken as the national emblem of Russia. Numerous cities around the world have adopted the bear as a symbol, notably the Swiss capital Bern, which takes its name from the German for bear, bär.
The behaviour of bears is often invoked in response to highly obvious questions, as in "Do bears shit in the woods?" As bears live in woods and have to defecate, this is true at first sight. However, bears spend months in hibernation during which they do not defecate at all. Therefore the correct answer to the question is that bears do shit in the woods but only at the right time of year.
Further reading - Bears of the World, Terry Domico, Photographs by Terry Domico and Mark Newman, Facts on File, Inc, 1988, hardcover, ISBN 0816015368
- The Bear by William Faulkner
|
Feeds |
Contact