BEAR
Although it possesses a fierce and aggressive reputation, the bear is more often a peaceful and solitary creature. The largest of the carnivores (flesh-eating land animals) and the least carnivorous, the bear is closely related to the dog and the raccoon. It is the most recently evolved of the carnivores.
Kinds of Bears
All bears belong to the family Ursidae. They are found largely in northern temperate regions and are widely distributed in North America, Europe, and Asia. Many species of bears display physical characteristics adapted to their particular environments. The following is a list of major species:
American black bear.
This bear is found in most parts of the North American continent.
Grizzly bear.
This bear, also known as the silvertip bear, is the fiercest animal in North America. It is strong enough to carry off small horses and cattle.
Brown bear. This bear is the most common of the bears and the largest flesh-eating land mammal. Scientists agree that the North American brown bears, the European brown bear, and the grizzly are closely related, but they disagree on assigning the various species of brown bears.
Himalayan black bear.
This bear is also called the moon bear. It is found in the forests and deserts of Asia. It roams about the countryside in family groups led by the male.
Malayan bear.
This bear dwells in Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, and parts of Indonesia. A small black bear, it has a ring-shaped yellow mark on its chest, which has earned it the nickname of "sun bear." Its extremely long tongue is well suited for lapping up ants, termites, grubs, and honey.
Polar bear.
This bear is essentially an aquatic animal of the Arctic region. The polar bear is fully covered, even to the soles of its feet, with long, thick white fur. The most carnivorous of bears, it lives on ice far from land and on coastal areas and islands of the Arctic Ocean.
Sloth bear.
This bear lives in tropical India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The creature is primarily an insect eater. It uses its huge feet and claws to rip open termite nests. It then sucks up the termites and larvae with its
funnel like lips.
Spectacled bear.
This bear roams the Bolivian and Chilean Andes of South America. The southernmost of bears, it has yellow
goggle like rings about its eyes.
The pandas of Asia are not technically bears. They are related to the raccoon family. The koala "bear" of Australia is a marsupial and is related to kangaroos, wombats, and opossums but not to bears.
Physical Description
Adult bears present an imposing physical presence. All species have broad heads, extended jaws, massive frames, heavy paws, powerful claws, and shaggy coats. The polar bear is white; most other types are black, brown, or cinnamon in color.
Bears vary in size according to their species. Generally, their height ranges from 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) and their weight from 60 to 1,720 pounds (27 to 780 kilograms). Their tails may vary in length from 3 to 5 inches (7 to 12 centimeters). The Malayan bear is the smallest at 60 to 80 pounds (27 to 36 kilograms). The Alaskan brown bear is the largest; it weighs up to 1,720 pounds (780 kilograms) and measures up to 10 feet (3 meters) in length.
Bears are plantigrade, or flat-footed, animals. The heel of the foot rests on the ground, like the human foot. The toes end in enlarged claws that are especially adapted for digging out small rodents.
Bears move both legs on one side of the body forward at the same time. This gives them a deceptively clumsy gait. They are actually swift and agile animals and are able to stand on their hind legs and strike out with their front paws. Most bears climb trees with ease and swim well.
A bear normally has a short, thick neck, a rounded head, pointed muzzle, short ears, and small eyes. Some species have round faces. Bears have poor eyesight, and most have only fair hearing. Their sense of smell, however, is extremely keen.
Although classified as flesh eaters, bears eat anything that is edible. Their teeth are suitable for either tearing flesh or grinding vegetables. In fact, they differ from all other carnivores in the shape of their molars, which have broad, almost flat crowns. These teeth, along with the lengthened canine teeth and reduced or absent first three premolars, indicate the bears' omnivorous, or meat and vegetable, diet.
The diet of bears generally is varied and flexible. Most species are especially fond of ants and honey. Bears also eat bees, seeds, roots, nuts, berries, and insect larvae. Their meat diet includes rodents, fishes, deer, pigs, and lambs. Grizzlies and Alaskan brown bears fish for salmon, and the polar bear feeds almost exclusively on seals. The largely herbivorous spectacled bear, on the other hand, rarely eats anything other than vegetation.
Temperament
Bears vary as much in character and habits as they do in size. Although a few kinds, such as grizzlies and polar bears, are fierce, most are mild and only become violent when their food supplies or young are threatened. Contrary to common belief, they will not hug victims to death. They are usually quiet except when feeding or when challenged by other bears.
Except during the mating season, bears live solitary lives. They prefer to roam in areas undisturbed by humans. Most tend to stay within certain territories. Black bears, for instance, usually stay within an area of about 14 square miles (36 square kilometers). Although they remain within a particular range, most bears do not have a regular resting place, preferring instead to wander.
Despite the fact that bears in the wild are used to wandering, most of them can adjust easily to life in captivity. Zookeepers agree that bears are among the shrewdest and most intelligent of animals kept in zoos. Performing bears have been popular features in circuses since the Middle Ages. They can be taught such tricks as wrestling and boxing, dancing, blowing a horn, riding a bicycle, and sliding on a toboggan.
Life Cycle
Survival in the wild can be difficult for bear cubs. They begin life as hairless, extremely small, and helpless creatures unable to open their eyes for about a week. A 200-pound (90-kilogram) black bear may have cubs weighing only 8 ounces (230 grams) each. Even a newborn grizzly weighs only about 1 pound (0.5 kilogram) and measures only 9 inches (23 centimeters) from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. There are from one to four, but usually two, cubs to a litter born anytime between November and March.
The cubs nurse for about two months and stay with their mother until the next breeding, which is usually about a year and a half after their birth. They can, however, get along perfectly well on their own when they are about six months old.
Bears begin to breed at 2 1/2 to 6 years of age. Cubs are usually produced every other year after the initial litter. The adults congregate during the mating season and then pair off to mate in seclusion. Males play no role in raising the young, leaving the females soon after the mating. The gestation period (the time between conception and the birth of the young) ranges from about six to nine months.
Most bears live from 15 to 30 years in the wild. Bears in captivity often live much longer.
A yearly event in the life of most bears, except polar bears, is the winter rest. During the autumn season bears eat rather large amounts of food and seek out comfortable dens for a period of extended sleep that lasts from two to six months. Bears may make their dens out of snow, dirt, or leaves and grass; or they may take their rest in caves or hollow trees.
Animals that sleep through the winter are said to hibernate. Bears are not true hibernators, however. The heartbeat rate, body temperature, breathing rate, and blood pressure do not drop significantly lower than normal, and on mild days in midwinter, a bear may awaken and come out of the den. Many hunters have been rudely surprised at how lightly some presumably "hibernating" bears sleep.
Commercial Value
Bears have been hunted for various reasons by humans since Stone Age people stalked the great cave bears of Europe. They are still sought for trophy value or for various economic assets, including meat, fur, teeth, and fat.
Bear meat is prized as a food source in China, as is the flesh of the polar bear in the Far North. The liver of the polar bear, however, is poisonous to humans because of its high level of vitamin A. Bear meat is considered edible, except immediately after winter. It tastes much like pork and is similarly prepared. 
The pelts of bears have been valued for centuries, and traders have sold them for bearskin rugs, hats, coat trimmings, and muffs. The teeth and claws of bears are used as ornaments by North American Indians and Eskimos. Bear fat serves as a grease for frying food and for softening materials such as leather. In North America the grizzly has been a favorite prey of hunters.
Live bears have been used throughout the ages as entertainment, sometimes in ways that now seem cruel. The Roman emperor Caligula once staged a tremendous fight, pitting 400 bears against large dogs and gladiators. In Europe, until the late 17th century, a spectacle called bearbaiting was common: a dog attacked a bear chained to a stake.
The trapping of bears is sometimes considered necessary to protect property, because bears can cause considerable damage. The grizzly bear often attacks livestock, and some bears destroy fruit trees and other crops.
All of these incentives for hunting bears have resulted in the reduction of bear populations in some parts of the world. The brown bear has been almost eliminated from many parts of Europe, and during the 19th century grizzlies were almost exterminated in the United States. In many countries today bears are protected in national parks and by carefully regulated hunting policies
From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia Deluxe © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.
