Bear with a long tail. Brown bear (common)

The bear is the largest predator on earth. This animal belongs to the class mammals, order carnivores, family bears, genus bears (lat. 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 hind legs to use the sense of smell to obtain information about the surrounding environment.

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) (lat. 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 (lat. 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 thickly lined with tufts of coarse fur, which allows the polar bear to easily move across the ice 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) (lat. 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)(lat. 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(lat. 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 open spaces Khabarovsk Territory and in the south of Yakutia.

Spectacled bear (lat. 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 (lat. 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) (lat. 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 shoots of bamboo. The bamboo bear lives in the mountainous regions of China, with especially large populations living in Tibet and Sichuan.

The bear family (Ursidae) includes the largest of modern land predators. Most taxonomists believe that there are currently eight species of bears on Earth (they are in turn divided into many different subspecies), belonging to three different branches.

Bears are found on all continents except Africa, Australia and Antarctica. Three species of bears - spectacled, sloth and Malayan - live in the tropics, but the center of origin of the bear family is in the Northern Hemisphere. Long ago, the brown bear was also found in the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa.

Bears are predominantly inhabitants of various types of forests and woodlands. One type - polar bear- inhabits arctic deserts and ice.

The most likely ancestors of modern bears were small predators that lived 25 million years ago (subfamily Agriotheriinae). The most ancient representative of this group, Ursavus elmensis, had a long tail and looked like a raccoon, but animals of a later period already resembled modern bears in both size and appearance. This group gave rise to three modern subfamilies. The giant panda was the first to separate from the common trunk, then the real bears (Ursus and its relatives) and spectacled bears (Tremarctos) separated.

Depending on the species, the body length of a predator can vary from 1 to 3 meters, the weight of individual polar and brown bears can reach up to 1000 kg. Males are much larger than females.

Bears have a heavy, awkward build. To support the large mass, their hind limbs are plantigrade (when walking, the entire sole is pressed to the ground). This also allows them to rise and stand freely on their hind legs. The structure of the front paws is different in different types of bears - from plantigrade to semidigital (the back of the foot is partially raised above the ground). All species have five toes on each paw, equipped with curved, non-retractable claws.

The skull of bears is massive, larger than that of other predators; the facial section is of medium length or shortened (especially in spectacled bears). Wide molars with flat chewing surfaces and rounded fangs are well adapted for crushing and grinding plant foods. Polar bears are exclusively carnivores, which is why their teeth are sharper. Depending on the species, bears have 40-42 teeth.

Bears' fur is thick and long; The color is usually dark, monochromatic, from brown to black (as an exception, white or contrasting two-color), sometimes with a light pattern on the head and chest. The tail is very short; ears are small, round; the lips are large and very mobile.

Polar bears and most brown bears of the New World do not climb trees, only European browns and all other species climb trees where they feed or sleep, but they still prefer to spend most of their time on the ground. For tree-climbing predators, bears have amazing features - their tails are too short and their facial whiskers are completely absent.

Most species of bears are non-specialized omnivores that feed on berries, nuts, shoots, rhizomes and leaves of plants, as well as meat, fish and insects. They have an excellent sense of smell, color vision and good memory, which allows them to remember places rich in food. It should be noted that bears do not digest plant food very well, since their gastrointestinal tract does not contain symbiotic microorganisms capable of decomposing fiber (these bacteria are found in the stomach of ruminants). Therefore, plant fibers and berries are excreted from the body almost undigested.

Photos and descriptions of modern bear species

Now let’s take a closer look at each of the eight species of bears.

Brown bear or common bear (Ursus arctos) – typical representative bear family; found in Russia, Canada and Alaska. It prefers to settle in old forest areas, avoids wide open spaces, but can live at an altitude of up to 5000 meters above sea level, where there are no longer forests. Habitats are usually confined to freshwater bodies of water.

The brown bear is a large animal: its body length is 1.5-2.8 m, its height at the shoulders is up to 1.5 m. Males weigh from 60 to 800 kg. The weight of adult predators varies depending on the time of year and geographic habitat. The smallest is the pika from the mountains of Central Asia, and the largest is the Kodiak from Alaska and Kamchatka.

The photo shows a brown bear in all its glory.

Polar bear

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest living member of the family. Its body length is 2-2.5 m, height at the withers is about 1.5 m, body weight is on average 350–450 kg, but there are also giants with a body weight of more than 500 kg.

Distributed on the Arctic coast of the North Arctic Ocean, in Northern Canada.

The color of the fur is pure white, often yellowish due to contamination with fat, especially in summer period. The fur is thick and warm, but the main warming function is played by a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.

The polar bear is the only member of the family that lives exclusively on a meat diet. He hunts young walruses, ringed seals, sea ​​hares, beluga whales and narwhals.

The photo shows a polar bear with cubs. The female usually gives birth to two cubs once every 3 years. You can read more about polar bears in the article.

Black bear

The black bear or baribal (Ursus americanus) is found in Canada, Northern Mexico, the USA, except the central part of the Great Plains. Lives in dense forests, bushes, and also in more open areas.

Black bear sizes vary depending on geographical location and season. In the northern and eastern regions of its range, the baribal is larger. Their body length varies from 1.2 to 1.9 meters, height at the withers - from 0.7 to 1 meter.

The photo shows a black bear on a tree. The ability to climb trees is vital for baribals - here they feed and hide in case of danger.

The Himalayan or white-breasted bear (Ursus thibetanus) is found from Iran to the South East Asia, in Northern China, Primorye, Japan and Taiwan. Prefers to settle in forests of the temperate zone, subtropics and tropics.

Body length is 1.2-1.9 meters, weight of males is 60-200 kg, females are 40-140 kg. Because of its long fur, the Himalayan bear appears much larger than it actually is. The coat is black with a white V-shaped mark on the chest, another mark is on the chin; There is a collar of long wool around the neck. Apparently, the collar plays a role in protection from predators, because this species has always coexisted next to the tiger.

The white-breasted bear is an excellent tree climber and often builds something resembling a nest by bending branches to the trunk.

The Himalayan bear is a rare, vulnerable species. For 3 thousand years now, people have been hunting it for its paws and gall bladder (dried bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine).

The life expectancy of the Himalayan bear is up to 25 years in the wild and up to 37 years in captivity.

Malayan bear

The Malayan bear or biruang (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest species of bear, sometimes called the “dog bear”. Due to their small size and friendly disposition, Buriangs are often kept in captivity as pets in Asia. Their body length does not exceed 140 cm, they weigh 27-65 kilograms. Malayan bears have short, black fur with a white, orange, or dark yellow crescent-shaped chest marking.

Malayan bears are found in Southeast Asia and Eastern India. Their life is closely connected with trees, where they often sleep in specially built nests. They feed mainly on various fruits, but if such food is not enough, they switch to insects.

Malayan bears are diurnal. They breed at any time of the year, and the duration of pregnancy varies greatly (from 3 to 8 months).

In captivity, the Malayan bear can live up to 33 years.

The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) lives in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Found mainly in lowland forests and steppes.

Body length – 1.4-1.9 meters, weight – 80-190 kg. The sponge's coat is long, thick, black with a white spot on the chest. Its claws are slightly curved, its palate is wide, and its lips are elongated (this is how it got its name). These devices help the sloth fish dig up and suck up termites, which make up a significant part of its diet. And it received its generic name (Melursus) for its special love for honey: it often climbs trees and is ready to endure bee stings just to feast on honeycombs. In addition to termites, other various insects and honey, the sloth fish eats berries with pleasure.

The sloth fish has long fur, which is quite surprising for a species living in the tropical forest. Apparently, it plays the same role as the loose clothing worn by people living in hot climates.

The sloth bear is a vulnerable species. In captivity, life expectancy is up to 34 years.

Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) Lives in the Andes from eastern Venezuela to the border of Bolivia and Argentina. Found in a wide variety of biotypes: mountainous and humid tropical forests, alpine meadows and even in deserts.

Body length – 1.3-2.0 meters, weight – 100-200 kg. The coat is black with a creamy white bib-like marking on the chin, neck, and chest; There are white markings of various shapes around the eyes (hence the name bear).

The spectacled bear is a rather slender animal. Despite its relatively large size, it is agile and climbs trees well, where it gets food and builds resting nests from branches and twigs.

In different habitats, the diet of spectacled bears varies, but everywhere food of plant origin predominates (fruits, bamboo, cacti, etc.). They also enter fields of grain crops and corn, which greatly annoys farmers.

In captivity, the spectacled bear lives up to 39 years.

Big panda

The giant panda or bamboo bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is found in the Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu provinces of central and western China. Prefers cool, damp bamboo forests at an altitude of 1500-3400 meters above sea level.

The height of a giant panda at the withers is 70-80 cm, weight is 100-150 kg. The fur of the bamboo bear is black and white (the circles around the eyes, the area around the nose, the front and back legs and shoulders are black, everything else is white).

The diet consists primarily of bamboo; Occasionally, pandas eat bulbs of various plants, cereals, insects and rodents.

In the wild, a panda usually lives up to 20 years, in captivity - up to 30 years.

Today, enormous efforts have been made to preserve the giant panda, however, despite the most stringent ban, the animals still become victims of poachers. They also fall into traps set for other animals. Read more about the giant panda.

What types of bears are the most dangerous?

Bears are often spoken of as aggressive and dangerous animals. Indeed, their strength and size allow them to easily cope with a person, but the tendency of bears to attack people is greatly exaggerated.

Only polar bears, being true predators, are perhaps the only representatives of the family that actually sometimes perceive a person as prey, while tracking him down according to all the rules of hunting. Their attacks are caused by hunger, not fear. It is polar bears that are considered the most dangerous to humans. However, not many people live near polar bears, and people, knowing who they might have to deal with, always carry weapons with them.

Brown bears are in second place in terms of danger to humans, but their aggressiveness largely depends on their geographical habitat. Grizzlies in the center of the American continent, as well as bears living in Siberia, are truly dangerous. This is especially true for mother bears who protect their cubs, or animals who defend their prey. IN eastern regions In Europe there are more aggressive individuals. But in general, all bears, like other wild animals, try not to get in the way of humans and, if possible, avoid meeting them.

American black bears, especially those that live near humans, often frighten people, but very rarely cause them any harm.

Spectacled bears are very cautious and are absolutely not aggressive towards humans, but it happens that they attack livestock.

Among the Asian bears, only the giant panda is a true vegetarian, and naturally does not pose any danger to humans.

Malayan bears often frighten local residents. If they are accidentally disturbed, they usually rear up, let out a furious roar and make a sharp lunge towards the enemy, but they rarely actually attack.

Himalayan bears and sloth bears, which often have to fight off large cats, are more likely to attack than to flee. Many people believe that sloth bears are more dangerous than tigers.

Literature: Mammals: Complete illustrated encyclopedia /Translated from English/ Book. I. Predatory, marine mammals, primates, tupayas, woolly wings. / Ed. D. MacDonald. – M: “Omega”, - 2007.

Bears are powerful predatory animals with thick paws with downward-curved claws. When walking, they step on their entire foot, which is why they are called “plantigrade.” Maximum speed, which that predator can develop - fifty kilometers per hour.

Characteristics of different types of bears

According to the research, these predatory animals appeared on Earth about five or six million years ago. Scientists now identify 8 species in the bear family:

• Brown bear,
• Himalayan,
• big panda,
• polar bear,
• sloth bear,
• baribal,
• spectacled,
• Malay.

All species of these predators have their own diet. For example, a polar bear consumes exclusively meat, a panda consumes only plants, while others feast on berries, fruits, plants, insects, and meat.

All types of bears have the same appearance, almost the same size and similar structure. Bears are the most large mammals predatory animals living on the ground.

Popular brown bear

This is the most numerous species, since it can adapt to completely different conditions and places of residence. They can be found in desert and mountainous areas, in dense taiga and even beyond the Arctic Circle. In ancient times, these bears also lived in Japan, but now this type of bear has completely disappeared from the Land of the Rising Sun.

There are few such bears in the western and central parts of Europe, they can only be found in mountainous areas. Scientists seriously believe that this species of bear here is on the verge of extinction. But in the regions of the Far East and Siberia, brown bears live happily because large quantity variety of food.

Due to their large habitat, these bears have acquired numerous subspecies, which differ in appearance and size. The weight of representatives of various subspecies of brown bears starts from one hundred kilograms and can even reach one ton.

Subspecies of this species of large predators include:

• Ussuri and Kamchatka bears,
• american grizzly bear,
• brown European bears.

Wool color This type of bear varies from light fawn to very dark brown. The body length of these clubfooted animals is in the range of 200-280 centimeters.

Brown predators lead sedentary image life, a piece of land where one bear lives stretches for tens of kilometers. However, the beast does not really protect the borders of its “domains,” but in this area there are places where the predator looks for food and makes dens, visits to which by other animals are immediately stopped by the owner.

In winter, brown bears hibernate. By that time, the den, hidden from prying eyes in a poorly accessible place, should be equipped. To do this, the bear places moss or dry grass on its bottom. Before hibernation, the bear must gain at least fifty kilograms of subcutaneous fat. To achieve this, the bear must consume about seven hundred kilograms of various berries and about five hundred kilograms of pine nuts. And this is all in addition to other types of food.

The bear's diet is mainly berries, nuts, fruits, roots, and grains. Sometimes ants, insects and their larvae, and small rodents appear on their menu. Males can also catch small ungulates that live in the forest.

A brown bear's sleep during hibernation is quite light, but you should not wake him up, since a bear that has not slept well poses a great danger. During hibernation, the cardiac and respiratory activity of the clubfoot predator slows down several times; breaks between inhalations and exhalations can be up to 4 minutes. Body temperature also drops, it is in the range of 29-34 degrees. This condition allows the predator to use fat reserves more economically.

Dangerous Himalayan bear

This type of bear also called the Asiatic black bear. The Himalayan bear is somewhat smaller in size than the brown one, and its structure is slimmer. He has a more graceful build, a slightly elongated muzzle and large ears. This species of predator lives in the mountains and hilly regions of East Asia, from the formidable Iran to the hospitable Japan. You can meet the Asian bear in Indochina, the southern Himalayas, and Afghanistan. In Russia, this type of bear can be seen only in the Ussuri region, beyond the Amur, in the northern region.

Himalayan bears are jet black with a white or yellowish spot on the chest, hairline They have thick hair in the head and neck area that is longer and slightly raised, forming something like a mane. . Their individuals can reach a length of 170 centimeters, their Weight Limit– 140 kilograms. Basically, these bears lead an arboreal lifestyle, so their claws are strong and sharp, thanks to which they cling well to branches.

The diet of the Himalayan representative of the bear family is based on plants. In summer, it eats fresh grass, plant bulbs, roots, berries, and insects. In spring, its diet is dominated by pine nuts and acorns left on the ground from last year. These bears have a big sweet tooth and will never refuse to enjoy the honey of wild bees or raid an apiary. Sometimes the diet of the Asian bear is enriched with the meat of ungulates, rodents and amphibians.

This type of clubfoot predator poses a danger to people, since these bears are very brave and can fight for prey and with bengal tiger, and with a leopard. In Asian countries, many cases of Himalayan bears attacking livestock have been recorded.

Cute big panda

Pandas live in the forests of central and western China and are protected by the state due to their small population. The birth of each new panda is recorded and considered a joyful event.

These bears have an interesting black and white color., they reach a length of 120 cm, their maximum weight is 160 kg. They have a dense body with a large head, their legs are short with small claws. For a long time, scientists argued about which family to “identify” pandas into – the bear family, or the raccoon family. But as a result of numerous studies, it turned out that the body structure of a panda corresponds to a bear, although they have some features that are characteristic of raccoons.

Pandas are slow and thoughtful, so they prefer to live alone, however, in the spring they still get closer to individuals of the opposite sex to mate.

Pandas feed mostly on fresh bamboo shoots, but sometimes they can feast on other plants or fish.

Mighty polar bear

The polar bear is the largest a representative of the bear family. The weight of individuals ranges from 300-800 kilograms. Moreover, females can reach only 400 kilograms, while males are larger, and some of their representatives can weigh up to a ton. The body length of such a bear can be up to 3 meters.

White predators live in the northern hemisphere, with large specimens living near the Bering Sea, and less prominent ones in Spitsbergen. These bears have longer hair compared to other species and a flat skull structure. Their fur is white, but sometimes under the sun's rays it takes on a yellowish tone; the skin of polar bears is black.

The diet of this type of predator contains almost no plant food. The main “dish” on the menu of polar bears are seals, but they do not disdain birds, walruses, rodents, and whales that find themselves on the shore.

Polar bears pose a huge danger to polar explorers. If other types of bears almost never attack people first, then their white counterparts can specifically hunt down a person.

The sloth bear is a resident of tropical countries

The habitat of the sloth bear is the wooded areas of the island of Ceylon, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It's a slim look bears with long paws, which are crowned with large and sharp claws. His fur is thick, long, black with a V-shaped white mark on his chest, growing in different directions, so the bear has a rather unkempt appearance. Its muzzle has a pointed appearance, its lips are long, and when eating, the bear folds its lips in such a way that various funny grimaces are obtained.

The sloth bear reaches a length of 180 centimeters, and its weight is within 140 kilograms. During the day, he prefers to sleep soundly, while snoring very loudly, and looks for food for himself at night.

These bears eat mainly tree fruits and insects. At the same time, he gets insects by blowing them out of the bark of trees, and then strongly drawing them along with the air into his mouth. Sharp claws also help in catching insects and their larvae, with which the bear easily breaks rotten trees.

Black baribal

Baribal lives in North America , in Canada, Alaska, the Pacific and Atlantic regions. Baribal resembles a brown bear, but its fur color is black, its muzzle is more elongated and yellowish in color, and its size is somewhat smaller than that of its brown counterpart. The body of the baribal is 180 centimeters long, and its weight is around 120-150 kilograms.

This bear has long claws that allow it to climb trees well. The black baribal eats only food of plant origin, but its diet also includes insects, their larvae, and small vertebrates.

Spectacled bear: South American resident

This species of clubfoot predator lives in the highlands of the South American continent. Its body length reaches 170 centimeters, and its weight ranges from 70-140 kilograms. In addition, this bear has an impressive tail, its length is about 10 centimeters. The bear has thick black or black-brown fur, and its face is decorated with white spots that look as if the bear is wearing dark glasses.

Spectacled bears are listed in the Red Book; their population is small, so this type of bear has been studied rather poorly. This bear feeds exclusively on berries, herbs, fruits and roots. It lives in dens, but can settle in a tree for several days, having built a special nest there from branches bent under itself, and feed on juicy leaves or fruits.

Little Malayan bear

The smallest member of the family bear - this is the Malayan bear, or biruang. The length of his body reaches only 140 centimeters, and his weight is within 65 kilograms. The “baby” lives in eastern India and further to Indonesia.

The biruang's coat is short, smooth, and resembles black plush. The muzzle is shortened and colored either orange or gray, and there is a horseshoe-shaped marking of orange or white on the chest. Its paws are quite wide, and its claws are strong and curved.

Malayan bear leads night look life, and during the day he sleeps peacefully on a tree under the warm sun. The bear eats everything:

1. plant shoots,
2. fruit,
3. insects,
4. small rodents.

The brown or common bear is predatory mammals from the bear family. This is one of the largest and dangerous species terrestrial predators. There are about twenty subspecies of brown bear, differing in appearance and distribution area.

Description and appearance

The appearance of a brown bear is typical of all representatives of the bear family. The body of the animal is well developed and powerful.

Appearance

There is a high withers, as well as a fairly massive head with small ears and eyes. The length of the relatively short tail varies between 6.5-21.0 cm. The paws are quite strong and well developed, with powerful and non-retractable claws. The feet are very wide, five-toed.

Dimensions of a brown bear

The average length of a brown bear living in the European part is usually about one and a half to two meters with a body weight in the range of 135-250 kg. Individuals inhabiting middle lane our country, are somewhat smaller in size and can weigh approximately 100-120 kg. The Far Eastern bears and bears are considered the largest, their sizes often reaching three meters.

Skin color

The color of a brown bear is quite variable. Differences in the color of the skin depend on the habitat, and the color of the fur can vary from a light fawn shade to a bluish-black. Brown color is considered standard.

This is interesting! A characteristic feature of the grizzly bear is the presence of hair on the back with whitish ends, due to which there is a kind of graying on the coat. Individuals with a grayish-white color are found in the Himalayas. Animals with reddish-brown fur inhabit Syria.

Lifespan

IN natural conditions average duration The lifespan of a brown bear is approximately twenty to thirty years. In captivity, this species can live fifty years, and sometimes more. Rare individuals survive in natural conditions up to the age of fifteen.

Subspecies of brown bear

The brown bear species includes several subspecies or so-called geographical races, which differ in size and color.

The most common subspecies:

• European brown bear with a body length of 150-250 cm, tail length of 5-15 cm, height at the withers of 90-110 cm and an average weight of 150-300 kg. A large subspecies with a powerful build and a pronounced hump at the withers. General coloration varies from light grayish-yellow to blackish-dark brown. The fur is thick and long enough;
• Caucasian brown bear with medium length body 185-215 cm and body weight 120-240 kg. The coat is short, coarse, and paler in color than that of the Eurasian subspecies. Color ranges from a pale straw color to a uniform gray-brown color. There is a pronounced, large dark-colored spot in the withers area;
• East Siberian brown bear with a body weight of up to 330-350 kg and large sizes skulls. The fur is long, soft and dense, with a pronounced shine. The wool has a light brown or blackish-brown or dark brown color. Some individuals are characterized by the presence of fairly clearly visible yellowish and black shades in color;
• Ussuri or Amur brown bear. In our country, this subspecies is well known as the black grizzly. The average body weight of an adult male can vary between 350-450 kg. The subspecies is characterized by the presence of a large and well-developed skull with an elongated nasal part. The skin is almost black. Distinctive feature is presence long hair on the ears.

One of the largest subspecies in our country is the Far Eastern or Kamchatka brown bear, whose average body weight often exceeds 450-500 kg. Large adults have a large, massive skull and a wide, raised front of the head. The fur is long, dense and soft, pale yellow, blackish-brown or completely black in color.

The area where the brown bear lives

The natural distribution area of ​​brown bears has undergone significant changes over the last century. Previously, the subspecies were found in vast areas stretching from England to the Japanese Islands, as well as from Alaska to central Mexico.

Today, due to the active extermination of brown bears and their eviction from inhabited territories, the most numerous groups of the predator are recorded only in the western part of Canada, as well as in Alaska and in the forest areas of our country.

Bear lifestyle

The period of activity of the predator occurs at dusk, early morning and evening hours. The brown bear is a very sensitive animal, orienting itself in space mainly through hearing, as well as smell. Poor vision is characteristic. Despite their impressive size and large body weight, brown bears are almost silent, fast and very easy to move predators.

This is interesting! The average running speed is 55-60 km/h. Bears swim quite well, but they can move through deep snow cover with great difficulty.

Brown bears belong to the category of sedentary animals, but young animals separated from the family are capable of wandering and actively looking for a partner. Bears mark and defend the boundaries of their territory. In the summer, bears rest directly on the ground, nestling among forbs and low shrubby plants. With the onset of autumn, the animal begins to prepare for itself a reliable winter shelter.

Nutrition and prey of the brown bear

Brown bears are omnivores, but the basis of their diet is vegetation, represented by berries, acorns, nuts, roots, tubers and the stem parts of plants. In a lean year, oats and corn are good substitutes for berries. Also, the predator’s diet necessarily includes all kinds of insects, represented by ants, worms, lizards, frogs, field and forest rodents.

Large adult predators are capable of attacking young artiodactyls. Roe deer, fallow deer, deer, wild boar and elk can become prey. An adult brown bear can break the back of its prey with one blow of its paw, after which it covers it with brushwood and guards it until the carcass is completely eaten. Near water areas, some subspecies of brown bears hunt seals, fish and seals.

Grizzly bears are capable of attacking baribal bears and taking prey from smaller predators.

This is interesting! Regardless of age, brown bears have excellent memory. These wild animals are able to easily remember mushroom or berry places, and also quickly find their way to them.

The basis of the diet of the Far Eastern brown bear in summer and autumn is salmon going to spawn. In lean years and poor food supply, a large predator is capable of attacking even domestic animals and grazing livestock.

Reproduction and offspring

The mating season of the brown bear lasts a couple of months and begins in May, when the males engage in fierce fights. Females mate with several adult males at once. Latent pregnancy involves the development of an embryo only during the hibernation stage of the animal. The female carries the cubs for approximately six to eight months.. Blind and deaf, completely helpless and covered with sparse hair, the cubs are born in a den. As a rule, the female bears two or three babies, whose height at the time of birth does not exceed a quarter of a meter and weighs 450-500 g.

This is interesting! In the den, the cubs feed on milk and grow up to three months, after which they develop milk teeth and become able to independently feed on berries, vegetation and insects. However, cubs are breastfed for up to one and a half years or more.

Not only the female takes care of the offspring, but also the so-called nurse daughter, who appeared in the previous litter. The cubs live next to the female until they are about three or four years old, until they reach puberty. The female usually produces offspring once every three years.

Brown bear hibernation

The sleep of a brown bear is completely different from the period of hibernation characteristic of other species of mammals. During hibernation, the brown bear's body temperature, breathing rate, and pulse remain virtually unchanged. The bear does not fall into a state of complete stupor, and in the first days only dozes.

At this time, the predator listens sensitively and reacts to the slightest danger by leaving the den. In a warm winter with little snow, when there is a lot of food, some males do not dive into hibernation. Sleep occurs only with the onset of severe frosts and can last less than a month. During sleep, the reserves of subcutaneous fat that were accumulated in the summer and autumn are wasted.

Preparation for sleep

Winter shelters are established by adults in reliable, remote and dry places, under a windbreak or the roots of a fallen tree. The predator is able to independently dig a deep den in the ground or occupy mountain caves and rock crevices. Pregnant brown bears they try to arrange for themselves and their offspring a deeper and more spacious, warm den, which is then lined from the inside with moss, spruce branches and fallen leaves.

This is interesting! Baby bear cubs always spend winter period along with his mother. Such a company can be joined by bear cubs in their second year of life.

All adult and solitary predators hibernate alone. The exception is individuals living on the territory of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Here, the presence of several adult individuals in one den is often observed.

Duration of hibernation

Depending on weather conditions and some other factors, brown bears can stay in a den for up to six months. The period when a bear lies in a den, as well as the duration of hibernation itself, may depend on the conditions set weather conditions, the yield of the fattening feed base, gender, age parameters and even the physiological state of the animal.

This is interesting! Old and fat wild animal goes to hibernate much earlier, even before significant snow cover falls, and young and insufficiently fed individuals lie down in the den in November-December.

The period of occurrence lasts for a couple of weeks or several months. Pregnant females are the first to settle in for the winter. Lastly, old males occupy dens. The same place for hibernation in winter can be used by a brown bear for several years.

Bears-rods

Shatun is a brown bear that has not had time to accumulate a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat and, for this reason, is not able to hibernate. In the process of searching for any food, such a predator is capable of wandering around the surrounding area all winter. As a rule, such a brown bear moves uncertainly and has a shabby and relatively exhausted appearance.

This is interesting! When meeting dangerous opponents, brown bears emit a very loud roar, stand on their hind legs and try to knock down their opponent with a strong blow from their powerful front paws.

Hunger forces the beast to often appear in close proximity to human habitation. The connecting rod bear is typical of northern regions characterized by harsh winters, including the Far East and Siberia. A massive invasion of connecting rod bears can occur during lean seasons, approximately once every ten years. Hunting connecting rod bears is not a commercial activity, but a necessary measure.

Hello, my dear schoolchildren! We are updating the “Projects” section. If you are tasked with talking about what kinds of bears there are, then read carefully! This article contains everything that will help you tell an interesting story about the largest land predators on the planet - names, descriptions, and something interesting to make the report not boring.

Lesson plan:

What do all bears have in common?

Bears are animals with thick paws equipped with curved claws. All bears rest on their entire foot when walking, which is why they are called plantigrade. That is why they will never be graceful ballerinas, they are clumsy by nature and it is not for nothing that the nickname “clubfooted” stuck to them.

They reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour. And all breeds eat differently. Only the polar bear is a notorious meat eater; others may have plants, berries, and fruits on their menu. There are vegetarians among them.

The bear family includes 8 species.

Polar bear

The largest one can reach a length of up to 3 meters and at the same time weigh as much as a ton! Polar bear fur, like a solar panel, collects heat. In fact, its hairs are not white, but transparent. Sunlight passes through them and is absorbed by the skin.

But the ears of the largest bear are the smallest. This is how the animal prevents heat loss. After all, he lives in the middle polar ice in the fierce Arctic.

The polar bear is a real vagabond. Due to the harsh climate, he cannot stay in one place for a long time and wanders around in search of food. Sometimes he swims between continents, fortunately he is an excellent swimmer. The bear's menu includes fish and seals. Only when there is absolutely nothing to eat, polar bears satisfy their hunger with polar berries and plants.

White males never hibernate; only female bears do this in anticipation of their offspring. With human care, bears can live about 30 years, but in natural conditions - a little less. Today the polar bear is listed in the Red Book.

Did you know?! The skin of a polar bear is the color of coal - black! If you want to make sure, look at his “palms”. It is the dark color that attracts the warmth of the sun to the body of the animal.

Brown bear

The breed is the most famous to us: we have seen them in the circus, and they act in films, and in fairy tales they are the main characters. Large brown bears called Kodiaks live in Alaska and Far East– they reach 750 kg. Smaller species weigh 80-120 kg. Their size depends on where the animal lives, and its home is throughout Eurasia and North America.

Its different subspecies can be light fawn and almost black. Mountain grizzlies have white fur on their backs, while the Himalayan bear is all grey. Red-haired representatives live in Syria.

Brown bears feed more than half on vegetation - berries, nuts and roots; they love oats and corn. But he is not averse to eating fish and rodents. And they are excellent fishermen and hunters! Sometimes larger forest dwellers become prey. Thus, with a blow of its paw, a brown bear is capable of killing a moose. Their delicacy is... ants.

It's no secret that brown bears sleep in winter. They sleep in their dens for six months - from October to March. And those who did not eat well before going to bed begin to wander through the forests, they are called connecting rods. Such animals are a danger to everyone who meets them along the way.

Do you know that?! Bears have an excellent sense of smell. Thus, a brown bear can smell honey almost 10 kilometers away!

Black bear baribal

This species lives adjacent to the brown one between Canada, Alaska and Mexico, as well as in the area from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Baribal is not very different from its brother - only in size, slimmer paws and sharper muzzle.

A black bear grows to a maximum of 120-150 kg. Its fur, as is already clear from its name, is dark, and its muzzle is white or yellowish. Long claws help the baribal to deftly climb trees.

The black bear's menu includes everything that the brown bear eats - mainly plant foods.

Did you know?! Among the baribals there is a “white crow” - bears in British Columbia have white fur.

Himalayan bear

Remember the cartoon about Mowgli? He has a white-breasted friend Balu - this is the Himalayan clubfoot. In addition to the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the animal listed in the Red Book lives in Indochina, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Islands, Afghanistan, the Ussuri region, the Far East and the north of the Amur.

Large representatives reach 170 cm and weigh about 150 kg. At the same time, such large bears are real merry fellows: in zoos they usually dance and wave their paws, begging for treats. And in nature they like to spend a lot of time on trees. Smacking their lips sweetly, they eat foliage, because their main food is plant matter.

Himalayans are distinguished by their manicure white on the chest, and they themselves are black. They have a narrow muzzle and the largest of all species, gorgeous ears.

Do you know that?! The Himalayan bear does not like dens. He sleeps...in the hollows of trees.

Gubach

A bear with a strange name is a neighbor of the Himalayan bear, living in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Yes, and its coloring is similar to him, only the fur is long and thick, so the shaggy sloth fish looks like an uncut hippie.

It is named so because to eat food it folds its long lips into a tube and stretches them out, making faces.

He can blow out the bark and suck up termites like a vacuum cleaner, and he does it so loudly that the whole neighborhood can hear it. Another assistant in getting food is its long claws, which it uses to break trees. The sponge bear’s menu also includes plants, berries and honeycombs. The lipped bear is small in size, weighing up to 100 kg.

Did you know?! Slothfish crawls on date palms and easily sucks the juice out of the fruit.

Malayan bear

The sponger's neighbor in Indochina is the Malayan bear. This is the smallest of all clubfoot, only a meter - forty meters tall and weighing up to 65 kg. And he is also the most “cut” - the fur of the Malayan bear is short and shiny, even the folds of the skin are visible. And his muzzle is unusual, as if there is a large orange birthmark on it. The Malayan bear's shirt front is the same shade.

The entire miniature appearance is disturbed by decently sized claws, which serve as a tool for climbing trees. Malayan bears are omnivores. Due to their size, they can only hunt small animals. They also don’t sleep in winter.

Did you know?! The Malayan bear's tongue can be up to 25 cm!

Spectacled bear

A truly southern resident, which can be found in the mountains and foothill forests from Colombia to Chile. You probably guessed why it has such a name? Yes, he has glasses! These are white stripes around the eyes.

The spectacled bear is about 1.5 meters in length, sometimes a little more. And it weighs from 70 to 140 kg. This species has been poorly studied, since the bear “with glasses” is a rare animal, listed in the Red Book. To stay on the branches, he bends them under himself, forming a rough nest. As soon as it becomes suitable in size and durable, the bear makes himself comfortable there for three or four days, eats there, and sleeps there.

In nature, the spectacled animal can live up to 25 years, and in captivity up to 35. It usually feeds on roots, leaves, nuts and seeds, and loves corn. Only in exceptional cases, when there is not enough plant food, bears can attack small deer and livestock.

Did you know?! Many bears crawl through trees, and the spectacled bear crawls through cacti. They are attracted to sweet cactus fruits. They also only have 13 pairs of ribs (other types of bears have 14!).

Big panda

You can’t even call her a bear, what kind of predator is she?! The question of whether to leave the panda in the bear family haunts scientists to this day. Many would be happy to send a panda to a raccoon squad. But genetic tests say: this is a bear!

One of the cutest animals is a vegetarian, rivaled in “cuteness” only by the “false bear,” the marsupial koala. How did nature's seamstress cut it out? TO white bear sewed black paws, black ears and put on black glasses!

You can meet a panda in China among bamboo thickets. White-black bears grow up to one and a half meters and weigh from 100 to 150 kg. Try to get better from one bamboo!

These animals are listed in the Red Book, and killing a panda in China carries the death penalty.

Did you know?! Pandas have unusual front paws consisting of six fingers: five are folded into a hand, and the sixth, like in humans, is located separately. They pandas skillfully cope with bamboo shoots.

That's all for today. This information will be enough for you to get an excellent mark. See you again!

Evgenia Klimkovich.