home » Style » Baribal bear. Lifestyle and habitat of the baribal bear

Baribal bear. Lifestyle and habitat of the baribal bear

Black bear or baribal (Ursus americanus) - a mammal from the bear family, lives in North America. There are 16 subspecies of black bear.

Description

The baribal generally has a black coat, especially in eastern North America. The muzzle is often light in color, contrasting with the animal's darker coat, and may also have White spot on the chest. Western populations tend to have lighter coats. Some groups of black bears from coastal British Columbia and Alaska are creamy white or bluish gray. The total body length of males ranges from 140 to 200 cm, and that of females from 120 to 160 cm. The length of the tail ranges from 8 to 14 cm. Males weigh from 47 to 409 kg, and females from 39 to 236 kg. The distance between the fangs is approximately 4.5-5 cm.

Black bears are different from (Ursus Arctos) greater body length, have slightly pubescent ears and a slight bulge in the shoulders.

Area

Black bears are found from northern Alaska, through eastern Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador, and south through most of Alaska, virtually all of Canada, and most of the United States, into central Mexico (the states of Nayarit and Tamaulipas).

Habitat

The habitat of the baribal is characterized by relatively inaccessible terrain, dense vegetation and big amount food. In the southwest, its territory is limited to overgrown, mountainous areas, and its altitude varies between 400-3000 meters above sea level. Black bear habitat consists primarily of chaparral and woodland. Bears sometimes move out of the chaparral into more open areas and feed on spiny pear-shaped cacti.

Adaptation to wooded areas and dense vegetation in this species may have originally been driven by the fact that baribals evolved alongside larger, more aggressive bear species, such as the extinct short-faced bear and the still living grizzly bear, which monopolized open habitats. Despite this, baribals are found in many wild, unspoiled places and rural areas, they can adapt to survive in some suburban areas as long as they have easy access to a food source.

Reproduction

Males meet females during her estrus period. The home ranges of males overlap with the territories of several females.
The mating season reaches its maximum from June to mid-July. Estrus in females lasts throughout the entire season, until the moment of mating. As a rule, females give birth every year, but sometimes they take a break for 3 or 4 years. Pregnancy lasts about 220 days, including delayed implantation. Fertilized eggs do not implant into the uterus until the fall, and embryonic development occurs only during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The birth of cubs occurs in January and February, usually during the wintering of the female. The number of cubs in a litter varies between 1 and 5. At birth, the baribala weighs between 200 and 450 grams. They are born defenseless and blind. The cubs remain in the den with their mother throughout the winter and feed on her milk. In the spring, when the family leaves the den, the cubs weigh from 2 to 5 kg. They are weaned from their mother's milk at 6-8 months, but remain with their mother until they reach about 17 months of age. Female black bears care for the younger generation and teach them life skills throughout their lives life together. Males do not directly raise their offspring, but do it indirectly - they protect them from all kinds of threats.

Females reach sexual maturity between 2 and 9 years of age, and can have offspring within a year of maturation. Males reach sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age, but continue to grow until they are 10 to 12 years old, at which age they are large enough to dominate young bears without a fight.

Lifespan

Black bears can live up to 30 years in the wild, but most often only live about 10 years, largely due to encounters with humans. More than 90% of deaths of baribals after the age of 1.5 years are the result of hunting, trapping, road accidents or other collisions with people.

Nutrition

Throughout their range, black bears feed on grass, forbs, berries and fruits. However, eating habits vary depending on the environment. Only a small part of a bear's diet consists of animals, insects and beetles. Most animals consume baribala in the form of carrion. These bears are not active predators and feed only when possible.

Baribals need foods high in carbohydrates and low content proteins and fats. Consequently, they usually prefer foods high in protein or fat, so they tend to consume human food. Bears consuming protein-rich foods show significant weight gain and increased fertility. In the spring, after black bears emerge from their dens, they face food shortages. As a rule, baribals lose weight during this period and continue to exist due to the fat accumulated before wintering. They eat any juicy and protein-rich food in quantities sufficient to maintain body weight. IN summer time, animals eat a variety of berries and fruits. Summer is typically a period of abundant and varied food for black bears, allowing them to recover from the energetic caloric deficits of winter and spring. Baribals accumulate large reserves of fat in the fall, thanks to fruits, nuts and acorns.

Behavior

Black bears are generally crepuscular animals, although breeding and feeding may change this pattern. For rest, baribals choose areas in the forest covered with leaves. Basically, these are solitary animals with the exception of the female and her cubs. In areas where food sources are clustered, large numbers of bears congregate and form social hierarchies.

Black bears have a high level of intelligence and demonstrate increased degree curiosity and have exploration skills. Baribals tend to be shy and fearful animals around humans, but they exhibit a wider range of intraspecific and interspecific behavior than originally thought. Black bears have unusual navigational abilities that are poorly understood.

Home range

Home ranges are established by adult females during the summer. Males select territories that are large enough to feed well and overlap the ranges of several females.

Communication and perception

Black bears communicate using their bodies, facial expressions, sounds, and touch and smell. The markings indicate the boundaries of other bears' ranges. Baribals have a keen sense of smell.

Threats

Young individuals are exposed to threats from large predators such as wolves and mountain lions. However, the majority of black bears, both juveniles and adults, are killed by humans.

Role in the ecosystem:

Black bears playing important role in the ecosystem due to their effect on insect populations. They help spread the seeds of the plants they feed on. Baribals consume large numbers of insect colonies and moth larvae, and also influence the population size of small and large mammals, such as rabbits and deer.

Economic significance for humans

Positive

Humans actively hunted baribals for the value of the trophy and various body parts, including skins for clothing or carpets, as well as meat and fat. Most states and provinces in North America where these bears live have regulated hunting. It is estimated that about 30,000 black bears are killed annually. A small number of skins go to market, as there is not much demand for them and such trade is illegal.

Medical research into the metabolic pathways of black bears is used to understand treatments for kidney failure, gallstones, severe burns and other diseases.

Negative

Black bears may raid livestock, although these losses are minor. Bears sometimes damage corn fields, berry fields and apiaries. They seriously injure and sometimes even kill people living in caravans and the travelers who feed them. However, the dangers associated with attacks by black bears are sometimes overestimated; approximately 36 people have died as a result of encounters with black bears in the 20th century. People who live or visit areas where black bears are present should be aware of appropriate precautions to avoid encounters with them.

Security status

Black bears once occupied much of North America, but hunting and Agriculture drove them into heavily wooded areas. Remnant populations survive in sparsely populated forests and protected national parks. It is an abundant and thriving species, but still faces regional threats from habitat destruction and hunting. Black bears are listed on Appendix II of CITES.

Subspecies

The baribal or black bear species includes 16 subspecies:

Latin name of the subspecies	Spreading	Description
Ursus americanus altifrontalis	North West Coast Pacific Ocean from central British Columbia through northern California and inland to northern Idaho and British Columbia	-
Ursus americanus amblyceps	They are native to Colorado, New Mexico, western Texas, eastern Arizona, northern Mexico and southeastern Utah.	-
Ursus americanus americanus	Eastern Montana on the Atlantic coast, from Alaska south and east through Canada to Maine and south to Texas.	Common characteristics with baribals in eastern Canada and the United States. Well-developed body, almost all individuals of the subspecies have black fur. Occasionally there is a white spot on the chest.
Ursus americanus californiensis	Mountain ranges of southern California, north through the California Valley to southern Oregon	Adapted to live in different climatic conditions: moderate tropical forests in the north and chaparral scrub in the south. Some individuals may have brown fur.
Ursus americanus carlottae	Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands and Alaska	As a rule, larger than its mainland relatives. They have a larger skull, molars and only black fur.
Ursus americanus cinnamomum	Colorado, Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming, eastern Washington and Oregon, northeastern Utah	It has brown or red-brown fur that resembles cinnamon.
Ursus americanus emmonsii	Southeast Alaska. Stable population.	It is distinguished by a silver-gray coat with a blue sheen on the sides.
Ursus americanus eremicus	Northeastern Mexico-US border region with Texas. Endangered.	Most often found in national park Big Bend and borders the deserts of Mexico. The population size in Mexico is unknown but is believed to be very low.
Ursus americanus floridanus	Florida, southern Georgia, and Alabama	Has a light brown nose and shiny black fur. There is a white spot on the chest. Average male weighs 136 kg.
Ursus americanus hamiltoni	Newfoundland	Typically larger than its mainland relatives. Body weight varies from 90 to 270 kg, with an average of 135 kg. It has one of the longest periods of hibernation of any bear in North America. Known for searching for food in the fields of vaccinim.
Ursus americanus kermodei	Central Coast of British Columbia	Approximately 10% of the total number of bears in this subspecies have white or cream colored fur due to a recessive gene and are called Kermode, or Kermode bears. The remaining 90% is covered with black fur.
Ursus americanus luteolus	Eastern Texas, Louisiana, southern Mississippi. Endangered.	It has a relatively long, narrow and flat skull, and proportionately large molars. Prefers deciduous forests and bayous as habitats.
Ursus americanus machetes	North-central Mexico	-
Ursus americanus perniger	Kenai Peninsula, Alaska	-
Ursus americanus pugnax	Alexandra Archipelago, Alaska	-
Ursus americanus vancouveri	Vancouver Island, British Columbia	Found in the northern part of the island, but occasionally found in suburban Victoria.

Video

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Character and lifestyle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The baribal bear swims well

Nutrition

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

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

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

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

Reproduction and lifespan

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

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

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

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

In the photo there are baby baribal withbear

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Floor: Race: Location: Occupation:

Mentor in a pack of wolves

Baloo (bear) Baloo (bear)

Image from The Jungle Book

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

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

In the Soviet cartoon, Baloo looks more like a Himalayan bear. Balu's fur is black, and there is a V-shaped white spot on the chest, which is characteristic of the Himalayan bear.

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

Disney look