Who are brown bears? Description, habitat, nutrition, reproduction, hibernation and behavior of the brown bear

“The clumsy bear walks through the forest, collects pine cones, sings a song...” Brown bear often mentioned in fairy tales, sayings, and children's songs. In folklore, he appears in the image of a kind, awkward hulk, strong and simple-minded.

It appears in a different light in heraldry: the image adorns many coats of arms and national flags. Here he is a symbol of strength, ferocity and power. “Master of the taiga”—that’s what the Siberians call him. And in this they are right, Brown bear– one of the largest land predators, an intelligent and merciless hunter.

Features and habitat of the brown bear

Brown bear ( Ursus arctos) belongs to the bear family and is second in size only to its Arctic counterpart. Description of a brown bear we must start with its unprecedented growth.

The largest brown bears live in the Alaska region and are called Kodiaks. Their length reaches 2.8 m, height at the withers – up to 1.6 m, the mass of clubfooted giants can exceed 750 kg. Most big brown bear, captured for the Berlin Zoological Park, weighed 1134 kg.

Our Kamchatka bears are practically no different in size. Average length brown bear ranges from 1.3-2.5 m, weight - 200-450 kg. As a rule, males are 1.5 times more powerful and heavier than females.

The body of the forest hero is covered with thick, dense hair, which protects it from annoying people in the summer heat and from the cold in the autumn-spring period.

The coat consists of short fluffy fibers to retain heat and longer ones to protect from moisture. The hair grows in such a way that in rainy weather the drops roll off the fur, almost without wetting it.

Color – all shades of brown. Different bears climatic zones vary: some have golden-fawn coats, while others have close to black coats.

Those living in the Himalayas and Rocky Mountains are distinguished by light ends of the hair in the back area, the inhabitants of Syria are mostly red-brown. Our Russian bears are mostly brown in color.

Bears shed once a year: it begins in the spring during the rutting period, and ends before winter. Autumn molt passes sluggishly and unnoticed, the fur is completely replaced shortly before entering the den.

U brown bears in the photo the protruding hump is clearly visible - this is a mountain of muscles in the withers area, allowing animals to dig the ground with ease. It is the muscles of the upper back that give the bear its enormous impact force.

The head is heavy, large, with a well-defined forehead and a depression in the area of ​​the bridge of the nose. In brown bears it is not as elongated as in white ones. The ears are small, as are the deep-set eyes. The beast's mouth is equipped with 40 teeth, the fangs and incisors are large, the rest are smaller (vegetarian).

The bite force of a brown bear is monstrous. The special structure of the skull, the so-called sagittal crest, provides more area for the development and strengthening of the jaw muscles. Four bear fangs bite with a force of 81 atmospheres and are capable of tearing off huge chunks of flesh.

The paws are powerful and impressive. Each has 5 fingers and huge claws (up to 10 cm), which the bear cannot retract. The feet are covered with thick and rough skin, usually dark brown in color.

The claws are not intended for hunting; the bear uses them to dig up roots, tubers, and bulbs that are part of its diet. Except for humans, they can only walk upright, leaning on their hind limbs.

The peculiar gait, mentioned in more than a dozen fairy tales, is explained by the fact that when a bear walks, it steps alternately on both left paws, then on both right paws, and it seems as if it is waddling from side to side.

Of all the senses, the bear’s weakest is vision, hearing is better, but the sense of smell is excellent (100 times better than a human’s). is able to smell honey 8 km from the hive and hear the buzz of a swarm of bees 5 km away.

Territories, where does the brown bear live– are huge. They inhabit almost all of Eurasia and North America, excluding the southern regions. Everywhere these animals are considered quite rare; large populations exist in northern states USA, Canada, and of course, in Siberia and the Far East.

Brown bear - animal forests. They prefer impassable thickets of taiga forests with peat marshy areas and small rivers. In rocky areas, clubfoots live under the canopy mixed forests, near gorges and mountain streams.

Depending on their habitat, scientists distinguish several subspecies of brown bear, differing largely only in size and color. Not everyone knows that the grizzly bear is not a separate species, but only a variant of the brown one that lives in the vast North America.

What is typical is that the closer to the pole, the larger the brown bears. This is easily explained - in harsh conditions It is easier for massive animals to stay warm.

The character and lifestyle of the brown bear

Brown bears are territorial loners. The territory of a male can be up to 400 km², while that of females with offspring is 7 times less. Each bear marks the boundaries of its territory with scent marks and scratches on tree trunks. Animals lead a sedentary life, wandering only in the direction of areas with more accessible and rich food, or away from the person.

One of them characteristic features in the bear's behavior is his persistence. Stubbornness manifests itself both when obtaining a large amount of food and for the sake of a piece of delicacy.

So, late autumn Having seen a lonely fruit hanging on an apple tree, the bear will first try to reach, then try to climb, and if it fails on the flexible branches, it will begin to shake the tree until it takes possession of the apple.

Another trait inherent in bears is an excellent memory. They are easy to train, especially in at a young age and incredibly smart. Many hunters note that bears who have previously seen a trap and its work throw large stones or sticks at it, and, having neutralized it, eat the bait.

Bears are very curious, but they try to avoid meeting people. But if this happens, the behavior of the animal depends largely on when it noticed the person and who was there before.

He can watch people picking berries or mushrooms, and then appear in all his splendor, irritated by someone's loud scream or laughter. After this, he usually makes a small but sharp leap forward, snorts with displeasure, but does not attack.

A minute later, the owner of the forest turns around and slowly leaves, looking back several times and stopping. Rapid mood changes are the norm for bears.

Another example is when a bear encounters a person by chance and suddenly, being frightened, as a rule, empties its intestines. This is where the name “bear disease” comes from.

It's no secret that brown bears hibernate. Before settling down for the winter, they feed especially actively to accumulate enough fat. Brown bear weight sometimes in autumn it increases by 20%. Going to the place of the den (a depression filled with windbreaks or a secluded place under the roots of a fallen tree), the bear meanders, confusing its tracks.

The bear remains in suspended animation for 2.5 to 6 months, depending on its habitat and climate indicators. During sleep, body temperature remains at 34°C. Males and females expecting offspring sleep separately. Mother bears with first-year cubs lie down together. Paw sucking is typical only for babies.

A bear's dream is very sensitive. If you wake him up in the middle of winter, he will no longer be able to go back to sleep and will wander through the snowy forest, scanty for food, angry and irritated.

The worst thing is to meet a connecting rod bear. Unlike other times, he will definitely attack. During the hibernation period brown bear mass decreases by an average of 80 kg.

Brown bear feeding

Brown bears eat everything. Their diet contains various roots, berries, bulbs, and young shoots of trees. The plant component makes up 75% of the clubfoot diet.

They visit orchards, fields of corn, oats and other cereals. They catch insects: they destroy anthills. Brown bears, on occasion, hunt small rodents, catch

Reproduction and life expectancy of a brown bear

Female bears give birth to offspring at intervals of 2-4 years. Estrus begins in May and can last from 10 days to a month. Male bears during this period are characterized by loud and booming roars and aggressive behavior. Fights between rivals are a frequent occurrence and often end in the death of one of the bears.

The female bear remains pregnant for about 200 days. The development of embryos occurs only when she goes into hibernation. Cubs (usually 2-3) are born in a den in the middle of winter, deaf, blind and poorly furred. Only after 2 weeks they begin to hear, after a month - to see. The weight of a newborn is about 0.5 kg, length – 20-23 cm.

It's amazing how different maternal instinct is while in the den and after leaving it. If the bear is awakened, she will leave her lair and her foolish, defenseless babies and will never return to this place.

The mother feeds the cubs for about 120 days, then they switch to plant foods. The nutritional value of bear's milk is 4 times higher than that of cow's milk. Often cubs from previous litters take care of their own younger brothers, look after them and try to protect them. One can definitely say about the brown bear: he is not a father.

By the age of 3, young bears are capable of sexual activity and finally say goodbye to their mother. They will grow for another 7-8 years. Life expectancy in the forest is about 30 years, in captivity – up to 50.

Brown bear in the Red Book listed as a “threatened species.” About 200 thousand individuals live on the planet, among impassable forests, of which 120 thousand are on the territory of the Russian Federation.

In their class, brown bears are one of the most majestic and powerful animals, but like other representatives of the world's fauna, they are completely defenseless against humans. Being the subject of hunting for the purpose of obtaining skins, meat and bile, they are mercilessly exterminated even today.

If you ask a foreigner to say three association words about Russia, in most cases they will be bear, matryoshka and balalaika. Some will remember strong alcoholic drinks, hats with ear flaps and extreme cold. But a brown bear is for sure natural symbol our country. The image of a bear adorns the coats of arms of many Russian cities: Yekaterinburg, Veliky Novgorod, Norilsk, Yaroslavl and others. The bear is called the “master of the forest,” partly because it is one of the largest land predators. The bear is a symbol of strength and power.

Description and dimensions

What does a brown bear look like? Many saw him in childhood, visiting the zoo or reading illustrated fairy tales, because the “clubfooted bear” is a frequent hero of children's literature. In nature, an adult brown bear is a large predatory animal with a large body. The bear's head is massive, but with small ears and eyes. Compared to polar bears, the brown representatives' heads are not very extended forward. The tail is short and does not stand out, because hidden under fur. The paws are large, powerful, with long claws up to 10 cm.

The fur is thick and long. The fur color of a brown bear ranges from light brown to black. Newborn cubs have light spots on their chest and neck that disappear over time. Brown bears molt once a year, but this process lasts from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn, until the animal goes into a den.

The weight of different individuals of brown bears differs depending on the habitat of the animals. The largest predators live in Alaska and Kamchatka. Their average weight is 500 kg, but there are individuals up to 750 kg. In Europe, the average weight of bears is 300-400 kg, and their length is from 1.2 to 2 meters. Grizzly bears (North American brown bears) standing on hind legs, will stretch 2.8-3 meters. Despite their massive size, bears run fast (at speeds of up to 50 km/h), swim well, and in their youth easily climb trees.

Varieties

There are hundreds of varieties of brown bear. The most common are the common brown, grizzly and Kodiak (inhabit the islands of the Kodiak archipelago in Alaska). Subspecies are also known:

• Siberian brown bear (live in Siberia east of the Yenisei);
• Gobi brown bear - mazalay (lives in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia; listed in the Red Book because it is endangered);
• Tien Shan (lives in the Pamir, Tien Shan and Himalaya mountains);
• Ussuri, or Japanese;
• Tibetan;
• Syrian.

Habitat

The habitat of the brown bear in Russia occupies almost the entire forest and forest-tundra zone of the northern part of the country. In Europe, populations of brown predators are found in the Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains, Alps and Apennines. The animal also lives in Scandinavia and Finland. In Asia, this type of bear is common in Palestine, Iraq and Iran (in the north of the countries), China and Korea. In Japan, bears live on the island of Hokkaido. And residents of North America often encounter grizzly bears in Canada, Alaska and the northwestern United States.

Regardless of the continent, brown bears preferably live in forests, tundra, taiga and mountains. Adult males often live alone, while females usually live with cubs. Adult bears like to mark their territory, which reaches up to 400 square meters. km.

Nutrition

The brown bear is a predator, but its diet consists of 70-80% plant foods. He especially likes berries, nuts, acorns, stems and roots. forest plants. Bears love to feast on insects (ants and butterflies), worms, lizards, frogs and various rodents. Clubfoot's tastes include mice, marmots, gophers and chipmunks, but he prefers personally caught fish to all of them. It happens that a bear also eats the carcasses of ungulates: roe deer, fallow deer, elk and deer.

The plot of fairy tales, where a bear eats the contents of honey pots, is not fiction. In general, the etymology of the word “bear” is “knowing where the honey is”, “honey eater”.

Grizzlies living in Alaska also attack wolves, and Far Eastern brown bears hunt tigers. Bears often take prey from other predators. During the period of activity, the animal “eats” up to 200 kg subcutaneous fat. With the resulting supply, the bear lies down to hibernate in a den.

For dens, bears choose dry holes protected by windbreaks, sometimes they dig a hibernation “house” in the ground or occupy caves and rock crevices. The clubfoot's winter sleep usually lasts from 80 to 200 days. Females with their offspring spend the most time in dens, and older males spend the least amount of time. During hibernation, up to 80 kg of accumulated fat is spent.

Reproduction

The mating season for brown bears begins in May-June. At this time, females go into estrus, which lasts 10-30 days. Males begin to actively select a mate for themselves, accompanying the search with strong roars and fights with other applicants, which sometimes end in death. During this period, males are very aggressive and dangerous. The established pair stays together for 30-40 days, and if a new one appears nearby who wants to be fertilized, then both the male and the female drive him away.

The female bear's embryo begins to develop with a delay, not earlier than November, and birth occurs in January or February. As a rule, 2-3 bear cubs are born, weighing 0.5-0.7 kg and up to 23 cm tall. Their fur is still short and sparse, their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear. The cubs' hearing returns to normal only 2 weeks after birth, and their vision – after a month. By spring, babies have a full set of baby teeth and, in addition to mother's milk, they can already eat berries, plants and insects.

By the time they leave the den, the cubs weigh up to 7 kg. Throughout the first year of life, the offspring does not leave the mother. The family will also spend the next hibernation in the den together. By the age of three, the bears will become sexually mature and will finally separate from their parents. And the cubs will become adult males and females at 10-11 years of age.

By the way, the father does not participate in the life of the offspring; all the troubles fall on the bear. The total lifespan of brown bears is up to 30 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity.

In the world of man

In children's literature, there are many fairy tales where the bear is one of the main characters: “Masha and the Bear”, “Three Bears”, “Teremok”, “Tops and Roots”. Of course, I remember the foreign, but already so dear, Winnie the Pooh. At the same time, a bear can be both a symbol of strength and power, and a clumsy and slightly stupid character. Nicknames are often invented for the literary bear: Mikhailo Potapych, Kosolapy, Toptygin.

Well-known proverbs and sayings about bears:

• Make friends with the bear, but hold on to your gun.
• Without killing the bear, do not sell the skins.
• The bear stepped on my ear.
• Two bears will not get along in one den.
• The bear is clumsy and hefty.
• The bear has nine songs, and those are about honey.
• The bear was wrong for killing the cow; The cow that went into the forest is also wrong.

People see bears that live in captivity in the zoo and in the circus. And individuals living in natural conditions often present a completely different interest to humans. Man has been hunting bears for a long time. The meat is used for food, the skin is used to make carpets, and the gall bladder is used in traditional Asian medicine. In many regions, hunting for brown bears is prohibited or limited by law, because this species is listed as “endangered” in the Red Book.

The opposite also happens when a predator attacks a person. More often this happens:

• when a female bear seeks to protect her offspring. She shows aggression towards a person, but not with the purpose of killing, and then so that the stranger leaves;
• when a man caught a bear next to his prey, even if it was the man’s own supplies;
• when the bears have a prolonged period of lack of food or when the rut is in progress (the period of mating of animals);
• Connecting bears also attack people - these are individuals who have not hibernated in a den or have woken up. Feeling very hungry, exhausted animals enter settlements and attack livestock and humans.

In general, the animal itself is afraid of humans and tries to hide. Therefore, during a chance encounter with a bear, it is recommended to make loud noises, knock, honk, etc. There is a high probability that the bear will not dare to approach the source of the noise.

As for the population, there are now about 200 thousand brown bears in the world. The majority live in Russia - 120 thousand, in the United States - 32 thousand (of which 95% are in Alaska), in Canada - 22 thousand. There are about 14 thousand individuals in Europe.

The formidable animal, the largest of the land predators, has become a symbol of the taiga depths and dense forests. The powerful nature of the bear has always aroused the admiration and respect of people.

It is no coincidence that the image of the mighty master of the taiga has entered the cultural heritage of many peoples. Brown bear is familiar to residents of mountainous regions of many countries, but is best known in Russia.

Description and features

Appearance The bear is amazed by its size and features of a real predator. The mass of a forest dweller reaches 350-400 kg, the body length is on average about 2 meters. Three-meter giants are found in the Far East. Kamchatsky brown bear weighs more than 500 kg.

The record heavyweight at the Berlin Zoo weighed 780 kg. IN middle lane A typical representative of the bear family is slightly smaller than its relatives - weighing up to 120-150 kg. Males are approximately one and a half times larger than females.

The barrel-shaped body with pronounced withers is supported by high five-toed paws with non-retractable claws up to 12 cm. The five-toed feet are wide. There is practically no tail, its length is so small in relation to the body, only 20 cm. Small ears and eyes are located on the massive head. High forehead. The muzzle is elongated.

The color of the thick coat varies depending on the habitat: from a fawn shade to a blue-black tone. Brown bears are considered the most common. Brown-red bears live in Syria. A grayish coating is found among the Himalayan inhabitants. Molting lasts from spring to autumn, until they go into the den. Sometimes the period is divided into two stages:

• early - intense, during the rut;
• late - slow, during cold weather.

An important period in the life of a predator is wintering. How long does a brown bear spend in hibernation?- depends on external factors. Winter sleep lasts from 2 to 6 months, but in warm regions with rich harvests of nuts and berries, bears do not sleep at all.

The bear has been preparing for the harsh taiga winter since the summer - looking for a place, settling in, accumulating subcutaneous fat. Shelters are most often located in holes between the roots of cedars and spruces, in places where trees have been turned upside down, and under logs.

The most reliable dens of predators are ground ones, going deep into the ground. Hunters recognize such places by the yellowish coating on the trees and bushes around the den. The bear's hot breath settles like frost on the branches.

The dens inside are reinforced with vertically located branches. Animals block the entrance with them, closing themselves off from the outside world until spring. Before the final hiding, the tracks are carefully obfuscated.

Brown bear in the taiga hibernates curled up. The hind legs are tucked to the belly, and the front legs cover the muzzle. Pregnant mother bears hibernate with cubs in their second year of life.

Every year, predators tend to change their hibernation place, but in cases of a shortage of “apartments” they return to the dens of previous years. They spend the winter mostly alone. But brown bears Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Can unite in one den.

The animal's weak sleep is disturbed, thaws disturb predators and force them to leave their dens. Some animals cannot lie down in a den in the fall due to lack of food.

Connecting bears are extremely aggressive in winter - hunger makes the animal ferocious. Meetings with him are very dangerous. The connecting rod has little chance of surviving until spring. The animal's physical weakness, lack of food supply and cold make the animal vulnerable.

Kinds

The modern systematization of brown bears did not come immediately due to many population differences. Today, there is one species and twenty geographical races (subspecies), differing in color, size, and distribution area.

The most famous brown bears include the following large subspecies:

European brown bear(Eurasian or common). Many peoples cultivated the mighty ruler into a deity. The inhabitant of coniferous and deciduous forests settles as far as the tundra swamps in the north and climbs mountains up to 3000 meters in the south in search of coolness.

Active day and night, when there is an abundance of berries and fruits in nature. A lover of plundering honeycombs. The color varies from light brown to black-brown.

California bear(grizzly). The subspecies, which became extinct with the arrival of white people, is depicted on the California flag. It was an important component of the region's ecosystem. The subspecies was exterminated by hunters. Remains a symbol of the state.

Siberian brown bear. It is this subspecies that is called the owner of the Russian. Characterized by a dark brown color with a thicker coat of hair on the legs. Ruler of the Eastern part of Siberia, found in Mongolia, Kazakhstan.

Atlas bear. Extinct subspecies. Lived in territories near the Atlas Mountains, from Morocco to Libya. The bear had a reddish tint to its fur. It ate plant roots, acorns, and nuts.

Gobi bear (mazalay). A rare inhabitant of the desert mountains of Mongolia. The fur color is light brown, there is always a slightly bleached stripe along the chest, shoulders and throat. Brown bear in the photo elegant and recognizable.

Mexican(grizzly). A rare animal in danger of extinction. Dimensions of a brown bear large. A predator with a pronounced hump in the area of ​​the shoulder blades. It lives at the foot of the hills, in mountain forests at an altitude of up to 3000 meters. The last reliable record of grizzly bears was in 1960.

Tien Shan brown bear. A rare subspecies that lives in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Pamirs, and Tien Shan. main feature– light claws of the front paws. Protected by nature reserves in Kazakhstan.

Ussuri (Himalayan) bear. The animal is small in size compared to its relatives. Weight does not exceed 150 kg, length is approximately 180 cm. The color is dark, on the chest there is a triangular spot of white or yellowish tint.

Inhabitant of the forests of Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territory, Japanese Islands, Pakistan, Iran, Korea, China, Afghanistan. Excellent climbs trees and swims.

Kodiak. One of the largest predators on land. The average mass of giants is half a ton. Abundance of food short winter characteristic of their habitats - the islands of the Kodiak archipelago. A keen sense of smell and keen hearing help the predator in the hunt. The beast is omnivorous. In addition to fish and meat, you won’t mind eating berries, nuts, and juicy fruits.

Tibetan bear(food eater). It got its name from the way it feeds on grasses and pikas on the Tibetan Plateau. A very rare subspecies, described in the 19th century. It is possible that the subspecies can be preserved high in the mountains. Prototype of the yeti. The piece of fur found as confirmation of the legend belonged to a brown bear.

Lifestyle and habitat

The forest dweller prefers areas with windbreaks, dense growth of grasses and shrubs in burnt areas. Mountain regions, tundra, and coastlines are also developed by the predator. Once upon a time, a wide distribution of the brown bear was recorded from England to.

But changes in inhabited territories and the extermination of the beast led to a significant compression of the range. Forest areas western Canada, Alaska, Far East Russia is the main territory of its habitat.

Each bear has a separate territory, ranging in size from 70 to 140 km², marked by smells and noticeable scratches on the trees. The male's area is 7 times larger than that of the female. The territory is defended from strangers. The separated young animals, in search of a partner, can actively wander beyond the boundaries of the site.

The predator is active in daylight hours days, often in the early morning and evening. In search of food, the sedentary animal sometimes makes seasonal movements, following to areas where berries and nuts ripen.

Despite large sizes animal and clumsy appearance, the predator runs quickly. Average brown bear speed is 50-60 km/h. The physical activity and plasticity of the animal is manifested in the ability to climb trees, swim across rivers, and cover significant distances.

The bear has the ability to approach prey silently, light movements. With a strong blow paws are capable of breaking the back of a deer, .

The sense of smell allows the animal to smell the decomposition of meat 3 km away. Hearing is acute. The bear often stands up on its hind legs and listens to its surroundings, catching smells. A difficult obstacle for a bear is deep snow cover.

The life of a predator has a seasonal cycle. In the summer, well-fed bears rest on the ground, among herbs, bask in the sun, and take care of their offspring. In the fall, they are busy looking for a winter shelter, arranging it, and accumulating subcutaneous fat.

In winter, a deep sleep occurs, which lasts from one month to six, depending on many factors. I wonder what physiological parameters animals (pulse, temperature, etc.) practically do not change, unlike other mammals.

Spring awakens weakened animals. Weight loss over the winter can be quite significant - up to 80 kg. The accumulation of strength for the new begins life cycle.

Nutrition

Animals are omnivores, but two-thirds of their diet is based on plant foods, which they consume in different seasons. Brown bear. Animal eats acorns, roots, plant stems. Berries and nuts are delicacies. In times of famine, crops of corn and oats become food sources. All kinds of insects, lizards, frogs, and forest rodents are eaten.

Large predators hunt artiodactyl animals - wild boars, moose, roe deer, deer. In early spring, after hibernation, the bear gives preference to animal food, since it needs to gain strength, and there is little plant food. The animal is especially active when hunting.

The brown bear does not eat large prey immediately; it hides it under brushwood and guards it until its supply runs out. It hunts for carrion and can take prey from smaller predators - wolves. There are known cases of attacks on domestic animals and grazing livestock.

Near bodies of water, bears become excellent fishermen, especially during salmon spawning. The abundance of fish leads to the fact that the bear eats only the fattest parts of the carcasses, leaving other pieces.

Bears have good memory. Foraging areas with an abundance of berries, mushrooms, nuts, and fruit-bearing trees will be visited more than once by a predator with the hope of feasting on them.

Reproduction and lifespan

The mating season of brown bears begins in May and lasts a couple of months. Males fight for females; the fights between competitors are fierce and can result in the death of the animal. During the rutting season, bears are very dangerous due to their aggressiveness. A wild roar signals the determination of the opponents.

The offspring appears in the den after 6-8 months. 2-4 babies are born completely helpless - bald, blind and deaf. The weight of newborns is only 500 g, length is approximately 25 cm. After a month, the cubs open their eyes and begin to catch sounds. By 3 months, baby teeth grow in.

In spring, kids are ready to find berries and insects on their own. But they feed on milk for another six months. The mother feeds the cubs with the prey she brought. The young are always close to their mother, learning to hunt and preparing for their first winter.

The father does not take care of the children. Independent life Bear cubs begin at 3-4 years of age, but the growth period continues up to 10 years.

The lifespan of brown bears is approximately 20-30 years. In the harsh conditions of nature, many individuals die, becoming victims of hunting and climate change. Human activities affect the reduction of the predator's range. In nature reserves, the life of bears increases to 50 years.

Big brown bear It has long been included in the Red Book, and fishing for it is prohibited. Conservationists are making efforts to save the endangered subspecies. The future of brown bears is under state protection.

The bear is the most large predator on the ground. This animal belongs to the class mammals, order carnivores, family bears, genus bears ( Ursus). The bear appeared on the planet about 6 million years ago and has always been a symbol of power and strength.

Bear - description, characteristics, structure. What does a bear look like?

Depending on the species, the body length of a predator can vary from 1.2 to 3 meters, and the weight of a bear varies from 40 kg to a ton. The body of these animals is large, stocky, with a thick, short neck and big head. Powerful jaws make it easy to chew both plant and meat foods. The limbs are rather short and slightly curved. Therefore, the bear walks, swaying from side to side, and rests on its entire foot. The speed of a bear in moments of danger can reach 50 km/h. With the help of large and sharp claws, these animals extract food from the ground, tear apart prey and climb trees. Many species of bears are good swimmers. The polar bear has a special membrane between its toes for this purpose. The lifespan of a bear can reach 45 years.

Bears do not have sharp eyesight or well-developed hearing. This is compensated by an excellent sense of smell. Sometimes animals stand on their hind legs to use their sense of smell to obtain information about their surroundings.

Thick bear fur covering the body has a different color: from reddish-brown to black, white polar bears or black and white in pandas. Species with dark fur turn gray and gray in old age.

Does a bear have a tail?

Yes, but only big panda is the owner of a noticeable tail. In other species it is short and almost indistinguishable in the fur.

Types of bears, names and photos

In the bear family, zoologists distinguish 8 species of bears, which are divided into many different subspecies:

• Brown bear ( common bear) (Ursus arctos)

The appearance of a predator of this species is typical for all representatives of the bear family: a powerful body, rather high at the withers, a massive head with rather small ears and eyes, a short, barely noticeable tail, and large paws with very powerful claws. The body of a brown bear is covered with thick fur with brownish, dark gray, and reddish colors, which vary depending on the habitat of the “clubfoot”. Baby bear cubs often have large light tan marks on the chest or neck area, although these marks disappear with age.

The distribution range of the brown bear is wide: it is found in mountain systems Alps and on the Apennine Peninsula, common in Finland and the Carpathians, feels comfortable in Scandinavia, Asia, China, the northwestern United States and Russian forests.

• Polar (white) bear (Ursus maritimus)

It is the largest representative of the family: its body length often reaches 3 meters, and its weight can exceed one ton. U Long neck and a slightly flattened head - this distinguishes it from its counterparts of other species. The color of the bear’s fur is from boiling white to slightly yellowish; the hairs are hollow inside, so they give the bear’s “fur coat” excellent thermal insulation properties. The soles of the paws are densely “lined” with tufts of coarse wool, which allows to the polar bear It is easy to move on the ice cover without slipping. There is a membrane between the toes that facilitates the swimming process. The habitat of this bear species is the circumpolar regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

• Baribal (black bear) (Ursus americanus)

The bear is a little similar to its brown relative, but differs from it in its smaller size and blue-black fur. The length of an adult baribal does not exceed two meters, and female bears are even smaller - their body is usually 1.5 meters long. A pointed muzzle, long paws ending in rather short feet - this is what makes this representative of bears remarkable. By the way, baribals can become black only in the third year of life, receiving a gray or brownish color at birth. The black bear's habitat is vast: from the vastness of Alaska to the territories of Canada and hot Mexico.

• Malayan bear (biruang) (Helarctos malayanus)

The most “miniature” species among its bear counterparts: its length does not exceed 1.3-1.5 meters, and the height at the withers is slightly more than half a meter. This type of bear has a stocky build, a short, rather wide muzzle with small round ears. The paws of the Malayan bear are high, while the large, long feet with huge claws look a little disproportionate. The body is covered with short and very tough black-brown fur; the animal’s chest is “decorated” with a white-red spot. The Malayan bear lives in the southern regions of China, Thailand and Indonesia.

• White-breasted (Himalayan) bear (Ursus thibetanus)

The slender physique of the Himalayan bear is not very different large sizes- this representative of the family is two times smaller than its brown relative: the male has a length of 1.5-1.7 meters, while the height at the withers is only 75-80 cm, the females are even smaller. The bear's body, covered with shiny and silky fur of dark brown or black color, is crowned by a head with a pointed muzzle and large round ears. A mandatory “attribute” of the Himalayan bear’s appearance is a spectacular white or yellowish spot on the chest. This type of bear lives in Iran and Afghanistan, is found in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas, in Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan, and feels at ease in the vastness of the Khabarovsk Territory and in the south of Yakutia.

• Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)

A medium-sized predator - length 1.5-1.8 meters, height at the withers from 70 to 80 cm. The muzzle is short, not too wide. The fur of the spectacled bear is shaggy, has a black or black-brown tint, and there are always white-yellow rings around the eyes, smoothly turning into a whitish “collar” of fur on the animal’s neck. The habitat of this type of bear is the country South America: Colombia and Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama.

• Gubach (Melursus ursinus)

A predator with a body length of up to 1.8 meters, height at the withers varies from 65 to 90 centimeters, females are approximately 30% smaller than males in both respects. The body of the sloth fish is massive, the head is large, with a flat forehead and an overly elongated muzzle, which ends in mobile, completely hairless, protruding lips. The bear's fur is long, usually black or dirty brown in color, and in the area of ​​the animal's neck it often forms something like a shaggy mane. The sloth bear's chest has a light spot. The habitat of this type of bear is India, some areas of Pakistan, Bhutan, the territory of Bangladesh and Nepal.

• Big panda (bamboo bear) (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

This type of bear has a massive, squat body, which is covered with dense, thick black and white fur. The paws are short, thick, with sharp claws and completely hairless pads: this allows pandas to firmly hold smooth and slippery bamboo stems. The structure of the front paws of these bears is very unusually developed: five ordinary fingers are complemented by a large sixth, although it is not a real finger, but a modified bone. Such amazing paws enable the panda to easily handle the thinnest bamboo shoots. The bamboo bear lives in the mountainous regions of China, with especially large populations living in Tibet and Sichuan.

Fur coloring brown bear various shades of brown, from dark brown, almost black, to brownish-fawn. The spot on the upper chest is absent or weakly expressed. The ears are small and rounded. Body length up to 2 m, weight up to 300 kg (usually no more than 200 kg).

Brown bear

Brown bear habitat

The brown bear has lived in Russia since ancient times.

The brown bear is widespread in the forest zone up to the forest-tundra to the north. It used to reach the steppes to the south, but due to increased persecution by humans, the southern border of the animal’s range has now risen to the north, especially in the European part of the Russian Federation. In addition, it is found in the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains.

It is believed that brown bears have lived in our country since the Late Ice Age. At the beginning of the 20th century. there were several hundred of them in Russia. They lived mainly in the dense forests of the northeastern part. In 1934, this animal was taken under protection. The number of bears began to increase. This is a record number, despite the fact that their original habitats in the north-eastern part of Estonia have become smaller in area due to intensive industrial development. The bear moved to the south, populating the forests on the western coast of the lake. Peipus and in the Rakvere region. Now its traces can be seen not only in dense forests. During the day, he often stops in very small copses, from where it is not far to an apiary or an abandoned farm garden. Bear dens are increasingly being discovered in fairly busy places, right next to a clearing or road. If no one disturbs the animal in such a place, it will winter there for several years in a row.

Brown bear

Lifestyle of brown bears

Brown bears are the largest representatives of the carnivorous order. They feed on both plant and animal food. Plant food - berries, mushrooms, nuts, acorns, roots and tubers of various plants, young grass, oats, fruits, and the bear especially loves berries, oats and honey. It also eats various insects, snails, ants and their pupae, frogs, lizards, fish, etc. Animal food is not primary for the brown bear, but after trying it, it begins to hunt mice, moose, wild boars, and kill sheep and horses. Bears are called affectionate nicknames less and less often: with their numbers increasing, these predators began to cause significant harm to the economy, attacking livestock, ruining apiaries and oat crops, as well as orchards.

The brown bear prefers large berries rich in forested areas with swamps, burnt areas and ravines. In the mountains it often lives far from the forest and rises to high-mountain meadows to the snow line, making seasonal migrations. It feeds on an extremely varied diet, mainly berries, fruits, green parts of plants and small animals. The composition of feed varies depending on the season and location. Eats large quantities of wild berries, stems of large umbelliferous plants, such as bear's pipe, etc., cereals (unripe oats), wild fruits, pine nuts, acorns, chestnuts, etc. Often and quite a lot eats ants, beetles and their larvae , Bee Honey. On occasion, the bear eats fish, frogs, lizards, rodents, birds and their eggs. He also willingly eats carrion. This animal rarely attacks large animals; these cases are common only in the north and during hunger strikes in early spring and late autumn. Bears hide excess food in reserve by covering such places with branches, moss or turf. By October - November they become very fat and lie down in dens. Hungry or sick animals that have not accumulated fat reserves are left to wander throughout the winter. Such connecting rods can be dangerous for pets and humans.

A bear's den is built in a dry place under a windbreak, an eversion of roots, between rocks, etc. A den covered with snow has only a small hole with frosty edges. The bear sleeps lightly - it dozes, the animal's stomach is empty in winter, and in the rectum there is a plug made of hard feces and fur of the animal. Bears leave the den in April - May (much earlier in the south).

The behavior of brown bears is very peculiar. The animal, feeling out of danger, wanders, breaking stumps, rolling stones and breaking branches. In an oat field, he chooses a position (sitting or lying) to make it more convenient to rake oats with his paws. His sense of smell and hearing are good. Sensing danger, the bear rises on its hind legs. In the oat field, he also first rises on his hind legs to look around the surroundings, and only then begins to feed.

When meeting a person, a brown bear usually runs away: there is no evidence that it would attack a person first. There are, however, known cases when a wounded bear or she-bear rushed at a person if the person found himself between her and the cubs. Usually the mother bear calls the unwary cubs to order by jumping up and purring. The bear climbs trees very cleverly: he will climb onto an apple tree and shake it so that the apples fall.

In the early 60s. In the Loobuskoe forestry, such an incident occurred with one of the foresters. He finished his rounds in the forest, decided to go straight through a hayfield overgrown with bushes, and unexpectedly came upon the trail of a bear. The forester wondered what could have raised the animal from hibernation at such an early time, since the snow had not yet melted. He didn't have to think long. The bear, angry and menacing, rose from the side of the ditch and headed towards dense thickets bush. As it turned out later, he was awakened the previous morning by workers who came to the cutting site. Apparently, the animal went in search of a quieter place to lie down in a new den, but a young moose came across it. Their fight can only be described by the traces they left behind.

The moose fought back with all her might: she kicked the bear in the belly with such persistence that he involuntarily emptied his bowels. Usually, after hibernation, a bear is capable of this only after eating a large amount of cranberries. The area where the life-and-death struggle took place was 15 X 20 m in size. How long this battle lasted is unknown, but the bear emerged victorious. He immediately satisfied his hunger and took care of the future: he dragged the elk carcass into the nearest ditch. Turning the torn side of the carcass to the ground, he covered it with moss, last year’s grass, fallen leaves, and then dry and fresh branches. I decided to cover my prey with a wrist-thick birch tree, but I couldn’t break it. After working, the animal lay down to rest, and the next morning the forester met him.

The second incident also occurred in the north, in the Porkuniskoye forestry. In the early 70s. Many bears lived in those parts. One of them, a big gourmand, got into the habit of ruining apiaries. There was no escape from him: he stole 16 hives from different farms, and then discovered that there were too many of them in the apiary near the central forestry estate. It turns out that they decided to expand the apiary there, brought new hives, carefully placed them on a field sown with grass, prudently fenced with a metal mesh 2 m high. The old hives were stacked near the forestry building at the very gate. At night, the bear, entering the gate, began to grab the stacked hives, but there were no bees or honey in them, and the thief became so angry that he broke many before trying his luck in the field. Having crushed the fence, he grabbed a beehive from the field, dragged it away from the apiary several hundred meters and emptied it. This robber soon had to be killed. Under the skin of the honey lover there was a layer of fat of unprecedented thickness - 10 cm.

During the cold season, brown bears hibernate, which, depending on the weather conditions lasts up to several months. The further south the bears live, the less they sleep. If the peace of an animal in its winter den is disturbed, it changes position or even place. Many bears make a bed for themselves from leaves and branches, some make a den near a fallen spruce to shelter from the wind. IN Lately They seem to have become lazier: they lie down in the woods near a stump or tree and sleep there until spring.

The brown bears' rut occurs in June - July. Pregnancy lasts about 7 months. Cubs (usually two) are born in dens between late December and February. The cubs will be born blind, helpless, weighing 600-700 g. They will gain sight in 30 days. Feeding the cubs with milk lasts about 5 months.

Together with the mother bear and the young cubs, the lonchaks sometimes stay together with last year's breeders. The she-bear gives birth to cubs every other year. Bears reach sexual maturity in the third year of life.

Molting occurs once a year, it begins at the end of April - June and lasts about 2 months. In the fall, the bear grows fur.

Hunting for a brown bear

Brown bear hunting is usually carried out from an ambush set at the edge of an oat field. Maintaining optimal numbers is possible thanks to carefully regulated shooting, organization necessary protection and additional feeding. Additional feeding of bears is not carried out everywhere, but in the Tudu forestry enterprise, for example, for almost 10 years now, carrion has been taken to places where bears usually live, and they eat it willingly. This, in our opinion, explains the viability and good growth of bears in these parts.