home » Accessories » Heroes of Rudyard Kipling: Baloo, Bagheera, Mowgli. Such different bears

Heroes of Rudyard Kipling: Baloo, Bagheera, Mowgli. Such different bears

If it’s a bear, then it must be a northern one and it must be a brown one? Oh, those who think so are wrong.

There are black, Himalayan, and spectacled bears. There are even sloth bears. And these respected representatives of the bear family live almost all over the world: from South America to India and Ceylon. We just know little about them. Meanwhile, they are interesting, very interesting animals.

Take, for example, the black bear (Ursus americanus).

This is the most common North American bear, distributed from northern Alaska ( National Park Denali) and Canada to central Mexico (states of Nayarit and Tamaulipas) and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. Found in 39 of the 50 US states and all Canadian provinces.

The color of the baribal can be very different: from blue-black to almost white.

It is believed that light bears have an easier time catching fish. Not so noticeable.

Perhaps that is why there are more of them on islands where there are no large predators. After all, the baribal is frankly weak against the same grizzly bear. And smaller, and his character is more peaceful.

The baribal is afraid of humans and prefers to flee when threatened. Or climb a tree. Well, the bear has not the slightest desire to become fur hat for the Scots Guards. After all, these hats are made from the fur of the Canadian baribal.

And another interesting fact. It is the baribal that can be considered the famous bear cub Winnie the Pooh. Because it was the black bear Winnie who was first seen at the zoo by Alan Milne's four-year-old son Christopher Robin.

Saw it, loved it, and gave her name to his favorite stuffed animal. And half a century later, 61-year-old Christopher Robin Milne himself opened a monument to Winnie the bear at the London Zoo.

Another “American” is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Moreover, the “South American” is the only representative of the bear family living in South America.. It is smaller than its northern relatives. It usually weighs no more than 150 kilograms, lives in the mountains: from Colombia to northern Chile.

The spectacled bear got its name because of its unusual coloring. Against the background of shaggy, coal-black or black-brown fur, white or yellowish rings around the eyes stand out clearly. Straight up - real glasses.

Unfortunately, little is still known about his life and habits. Too much wilderness is the region of its habitat. They say that the spectacled bear is the biggest vegetarian among its relatives: roots, grass, fruits.

For the latter, he is not only ready to climb a tree, but even if there is an abundance of food, he can easily settle there for several days: eat, sleep, and rest.

Of course, a spectacled bear, if there is a lack of food, can inspect the crops of sugar cane or corn, or, if things are really tough, attack a stray deer or llama. But this is so, by the way.

But the spectacled bear is a big fan of termites. The muzzle is narrow, the tongue is long. It is very convenient to get them out of a destroyed termite mound.

But the main “expert” on ants and termites is still not he, but the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), an inhabitant of South-East Asia.

The sloth bear has literally everything adapted for such hunting. Particularly long claws are ideally suited for destroying termite mounds.

And then the lips come into play. The bear folds them into a tube, forcefully blows air through them, freeing the destroyed termite mound from dust and debris, and then draws it in, again with air, through the gap between the teeth of ants and termites.

Something, in a word, similar to a vacuum cleaner. Only alive. By the way, it makes no less noise during feeding.

Gubach doesn’t care whether anyone hears this procedure. He has no enemies in the forests of Southeast Asia. If only a tiger. But even so, they are quite equal.

So, you can eat, snore loudly while sleeping and be sure that hardly anyone will dare to touch you.

It was probably because of laziness and drowsiness that naturalists of yesteryear gave this species of bear funny names like “five-toed sloth”, “sloth bear”, “bear sloth”.

But the handsome black man with a gray muzzle and a white tie around his neck doesn’t care about this.

Rudyard Kipling especially glorified the sloth bear. Do you remember Baloo the bear from The Jungle Book? There is every reason to claim that his prototype was just a sloth bear: strong, calm, slightly phlegmatic.

Although, this title is claimed by the closest neighbor of the sloth bear, the Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus).

Handsome, you can't say anything. Short, shiny silky fur, a light spot on the chest, somewhat reminiscent of a crescent. It is precisely because of this spot that the Himalayan bear is sometimes called the moon bear.

In addition, compared to the brown one, he is slimmer. The muzzle is thinner. The Himalayan bear also has larger ears than its relatives. Itself, in a word, elegance.

He really lives in the Himalayas. But - only in the summer. In winter it is still better in the foothills. Moreover, when he hibernates, he does not lie down in a den, but in the hollow of some old deciduous tree.

It can be found throughout South Asia: from Iran and Pakistan to Korea and Japan.

Yes and in Russian Far East The Himalayan bear is not a guest, but a full-fledged resident. Moreover, he seriously competes for the title of aborigine with the brown bear.

A Khabarovsk region and its capital introduced into their coats of arms the image of not just a brown bear, but a Himalayan bear.

And finally, about the bear, which feels great in the wild tropical jungle. Almost at the equator. This is a biruang, Malayan bear (Helarctos malayanus).

It is also called a sun bear because of the light spot on its chest, a honey bear (you understand why), and a dog bear.

What's the truth? They really are similar. Both the muzzle and the hard, smooth fur. Character, perhaps, too.

This bear lives in the tropical and subtropical forests of the foothills and mountains of Southeast Asia. It is well adapted to climbing trees and, being a nocturnal animal, often sleeps or sunbathes all day long in the branches of trees, where it builds a kind of nest for itself. Here he feeds on leaves and fruits, breaking branches as a Himalayan bear does. Does not hibernate.

If you ask US residents who he is baribal, any child will immediately answer that this is . Why US residents? Yes, because Baribal is a real “American”.

It has perfectly adapted to the plains, swamps and mountain forests of 39 US states, feels great in Canada and Mexico, and lives from Atlantic coast to the Pacific.

For Russians, the brown bear is more familiar, and from it baribal differs in smoother, black wool, and the owner of American forests will be smaller in size.

Biggest bear baribal reaches a length of 2 meters, and the weight of the largest representative of such a bear is 363 kg (for comparison, the weight of the largest brown bear exceeds 1000 kg).

The baribal is more graceful, with a pointed snout, longer limbs and a short tail. However, if this one loses in size, then in terms of “elegance” it is the undoubted leader. This is especially noticeable if you consider photo of baribal.

Shiny black fur and a light spot on the face (and sometimes on the chest) undoubtedly indicate a “gentleman”. There are other coat colors, for example, some shades of brown, it depends on where the bear lives.

It happens that yellowish ones are born, but this is only near the coast of British Columbia. There is also a “blue” fur color. Only “blue” is not in our usual understanding of the color of the coat (a shade of gray), but blue is black.

It should be noted that true color The bears do not get it right away; the young are colored light gray, and only by the age of 2 years the fur becomes deep black.

Character and lifestyle

If we continue to compare the brown bear and the baribal, then the second one significantly wins in terms of friendliness. He does not have such aggression, he is much more harmless than his brown brother. He diligently avoids meeting people. He does not attack people even when wounded, preferring to run away and hide.

But this does not mean at all that black bear a coward or too clumsy to fight. Beneath the deceptive, clumsy appearance lies a dexterous, strong, hardy and active animal.

Baribal can swim wonderfully, he can run fast without difficulty, and his long and strong claws serve him well when climbing trees.

But even such a strong and dexterous beast has natural enemies. For animals, which are larger than even a brown bear and reach a height of 3 meters on their hind legs, small baribals can be prey.

Therefore, where there are too many grizzly bears, baribals are rare. But where grizzlies have not chosen the territory, black bears increase their numbers.

Little bear cubs, which cannot yet run as fast as adults, become prey for and. These bears prefer active life in the twilight hours. However, they can easily change their routine if there is food nearby.

Baribals are quite self-sufficient, so they prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle. Of course, the exception is mother bears who raise their cubs.

So that they can calmly search for prey without worrying about the safety of the babies, the females unite and create their own bear nurseries, where they take turns watching the cubs.

It also happens that several bears find a lot of food (while fishing), in which case the baribals do not start fights and massacres, but act according to a hierarchy. Basically, males spend their “everyday” inspecting their possessions. Outsiders are not welcome on our own territory. If a fellow tribesman is weak, then the owner simply drives him away.

In order to instill fear, the baribal stands up threateningly on its hind legs. But if the opponent is worthy, then you have to fight. Moreover, the battle is fought with both paws and fangs.

It happens that the enemy is superior in strength, then you have to flee. The rest of the time is spent finding food. Bears need a lot of food to store fat and hibernate.

The bear prepares thoroughly for its long sleep. In addition to eating for future use, he builds a den for himself. Any recessed place among the rocks is suitable for this; caves are perfect; it is very good to settle down in a recess among snags and tree roots.

The den is carefully lined with dry leaves or dried herbs. If such a secluded place is not found, then the baribal can dig a hole in the ground, lie down there in the snow, and the snow will cover it from above.

The baribal bear swims well

Nutrition

It is interesting that the diet of such a large animal consists of almost 80% vegetation. In the spring, as soon as young grass appears, the baribal eats it with pleasure in large quantities.

When the time comes for insects to awaken, the bear’s menu is replenished with larvae, caterpillars, insects and all kinds of worms. They are considered a special delicacy wild bees, or rather, their larvae and wasp larvae. Of course, the honey itself is taken from the owners.

Like all bears, baribals are notable “fishermen”. Salmon that go to spawn can hardly overcome entire groups of such bear “fishermen”. Baribals can feed on fish for a whole month until spawning ends. In autumn, all kinds of berries, nuts and mushrooms are eaten. Bears also know how to extract juicy, nutritious plant tubers.

Since hunger is not the best teacher of morality, bears can easily steal a lamb from a farm, or... And when you are really hungry, carrion will also be used to replenish the stomach.

Reproduction and lifespan

The only time when aggression and pugnacity awakens in a good-natured bear is the mating period, which occurs in June–July. The female, ready to conceive, accepts the courtship of the gentleman, and the couple stays together for some time.

True, cohabitation does not last long. As soon as mating occurs, the bear and she-bear go about their business - the male continues his rounds, and the female begins to prepare for the birth of offspring.

To do this, she makes a den for herself. The den is prepared especially carefully, because the mother bear will have to spend the winter there along with her cubs. 180-220 days after mating (January-February), new residents appear in the den - two or three small, blind bear cubs.

The weight of such a baby does not exceed 300 grams, but the mother bear’s milk is so nutritious that already at the beginning of spring, the grown cubs boldly leave the den with their mother.

In the photo there are baby baribal withbear

Bears are very caring and strict mothers. They not only keep a watchful eye on their children, but also teach them all the wisdom of life. But kids are kids - they constantly find time to fight and brawl.

By the way, their mother does not limit them in this, because such struggles are not empty toys, the kids learn to be strong and dexterous. All this time, the mother feeds the cubs with milk. Even after young bears are old enough to be one year old, they can easily latch onto their mother's nipples.

Already at two years old, young baribals become completely independent, they can hunt and build their own den. But they will become sexually mature only at 3-4 years of age. It is interesting that growth in males continues until 10-12 years, that is, practically all their lives, because in wildlife these animals live only 10 years. But in captivity they can live up to 30.

Floor: Race: Location: Occupation:

Mentor in a pack of wolves

Baloo (bear) Baloo (bear)

Image from The Jungle Book

In The Jungle Book, Baloo takes the role of a mentor, and somewhat of a father figure to Mowgli. Baloo is one of the best experts in the Law of the Jungle. Despite being described as a "sleepy brown bear" in Kipling's works, some researchers do not classify Baloo as a brown bear.

According to J. McMaster, Baloo is part of the "Trinity" of Mowgli's caregivers, and represents strength, while Bagheera and Kaa correspond to love and knowledge.

In the Soviet cartoon, Baloo looks more like a Himalayan bear. Baloo's coat is black and there is a V-shape on his chest. White spot, which is characteristic of the Himalayan bear.

In episode 1, Baloo teaches wolf cubs to track prey. Afterwards, Baloo appears on the council rock and stands up for Mowgli.

Disney look