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

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

Description and features

The appearance of the bear is striking in size, features of a real predator. The mass of a forest dweller reaches 350-400 kg, the body length is on average about 2 meters. In the Far East, there are three-meter giants. Kamchatka brown bear weighs more than 500 kg.

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

A barrel-shaped body with a pronounced withers is held 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 is variable depending on the habitat: from a fawn shade to a blue-black tone. The most common are brown bears. Brown bears live in Syria. A grayish bloom is found in the Himalayan inhabitants. Molting lasts from spring to autumn, before burrowing in the den. Sometimes the period is divided into two stages:

  • early - intensive, during the rut;
  • late - slow, during a cold snap.

Wintering is an important period in the life of a predator. How long does a brown bear hibernate?- 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 prepares for the harsh taiga winter quarters since summer - it looks for a place, equips it, accumulates subcutaneous fat. Shelters are located most often in pits between the roots of cedars, firs, in places of upturned trees, under wells.

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

The dens inside are reinforced with vertically arranged branches. With them, animals fill up the entrance, closing from the outside world until spring. Before the final shelter, the tracks are thoroughly entangled.

Brown bear in the taiga hibernates curled up. The hind legs are drawn to the belly, and with the front legs it covers the muzzle. Pregnant she-bears go into hibernation with cubs of the second year of life.

Every year the predators strive to change the place of hibernation, but in cases of a shortage of "apartments" they return to the dens of the previous years. They hibernate mostly singly. But brown bears of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin can unite in one den.

The poor sleep of the animal is disturbed, the thaws disturb the predators and force them to leave their dens. Some animals cannot lie down in the den since autumn due to lack of food.

Crank 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 physical weakness of the animal, the lack of food and cold make the animal vulnerable.

Views

The modern systematization of brown bears did not come immediately due to the many population differences. Today, one species and twenty geographical races (subspecies) are distinguished, 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 have cultivated a powerful ruler into a deity. The inhabitant of coniferous and deciduous forests settles up to the very tundra bogs in the north and climbs the mountains up to 3000 meters in the south in search of coolness.

It is active day and night, when there is an abundance of berries and fruits in nature. He loves to destroy the honeycomb. The color ranges from light brown to black-brown.

California bear(grizzly). Extinct with the arrival of white people, the subspecies is reflected in the flag of California. Was an important component of the ecosystem of the region. The subspecies was exterminated by hunters. Remains a symbol of the state.

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

Atlas Bear... Extinct subspecies. Lived in the territories of the Atlas Mountains, from Morocco to Libya. The bear had a reddish coat. He ate plant roots, acorns, nuts.

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

Mexican(grizzly). A rare animal under threat of extinction. Dimensions of a brown bear large. Predator with a pronounced hump in the area of ​​the shoulder blades. It prefers to swim at the foot of hills, in mountain forests at an altitude of up to 3000 meters. The last reliable information about the grizzly was in 1960.

Tianshan brown bear... A rare subspecies that lives in the mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Pamir, Tien Shan. The main feature is the light-colored claws of the front paws. Protected by reserves of Kazakhstan.

Ussuri (Himalayan) bear... The animal is small in comparison with its relatives. Weight does not exceed 150 kg, length is about 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 Territories, the Japanese Islands, Pakistan, Iran, Korea, China, Afghanistan. Perfectly climbs trees, swims.

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

Tibetan bear(pika eater). It got its name from the way of eating herbs and pikas on the Tibetan plateau. A very rare subspecies, described in the 19th century. It is possible to preserve the subspecies high in the mountains. Yeti prototype. A piece of fur, found to support the legend, belonged to a brown bear.

Lifestyle and habitat

A forest dweller prefers tracts with windbreaks, dense growth of grasses and shrubs on burnt places. Mountainous areas, tundra, coastline are also developed by the predator. Once the wide distribution of the brown bear was recorded from England to.

But the change in the inhabited territories, the extermination of the beast led to a significant compression of the range. The forest zones of western Canada, Alaska, and the Russian Far East are the main areas of its habitat.

Each bear has a separate territory, ranging in size from 70 to 140 km², marked with smells, noticeable bully in the trees. The area of ​​the male is 7 times larger than that of the female. The territory is defended from outsiders. Separated young growth in search of a partner can actively roam outside the boundaries of the site.

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

Despite the large size of the animal and its 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 overcome considerable distances.

The bear has the ability to approach prey silently, with light movements. With a strong blow of the paw, it is able to break the back of a deer,.

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

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

In the winter, you are immersed in shallow sleep, which lasts from one month to six, depending on many factors. It is interesting that the physiological parameters of the animal (pulse, temperature, etc.) practically do not change, in contrast to other mammals.

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

Nutrition

Animals are omnivorous, but two-thirds of the diet is based on plant food, which is consumed in different seasons Brown bear. The animal feeds acorns, roots, stems of plants. Berries and nuts are a delicacy. In times of famine, crops of corn and oats become fodder. All kinds of insects, lizards, frogs, forest rodents get into food.

Large predators hunt cloven-hoofed animals - wild boars, elk, roe deer, and deer. In early spring, after hibernation, the bear prefers animal food, since you need to gain strength, and there is little plant food. The animal is especially active on the hunt.

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

Near water bodies, 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 a good memory. Food places with an abundance of berries, mushrooms, nuts, fruit-bearing trees will be visited more than once by a predator with the hope of eating.

Reproduction and life expectancy

The mating season for brown bears begins in May and lasts for a couple of months. Males are fighting for females, the fights of competitors are fierce, and may end with the death of the animal. During the rutting season, bears are very dangerous with aggressiveness. A wild roar announces the determination of rivals.

The offspring appears in the den after 6-8 months. 2-4 babies are born completely helpless - bald, blind and deaf. The weight of the newborns is only 500 g, the length is about 25 cm. A month later, the cubs open their eyes and begin to pick up sounds. Milk teeth grow by 3 months.

In spring, babies 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 brought. Young animals are inseparably close to their mother, learn to hunt, prepare for the first wintering.

The father does not take care of the kids. The independent life of cubs begins at 3-4 years old, but the growth period lasts up to 10 years.

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

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

The brown bear is the widespread and best known member of the bear family. Its scientific name Ursus arctos is composed of Latin and Greek words meaning "bear."

Subspecies and habitats of brown bears

Once the habitat of the brown bear went as far south as North Africa and Central Mexico. In the Middle Ages, the beast inhabited almost all of Europe, including the Mediterranean and the British Isles. Nowadays, due to overfishing, destruction of habitats and construction of roads, the population has declined significantly.

Today brown bears are common in Russia, in the northwest of North America, in Scandinavia, and Japan. They are also found in isolated areas of Southern and Eastern Europe, China, Mongolia, the Himalayas, as well as in the mountainous areas of some countries of the Middle East. There is even a small population in the mountains of the Mongolian Gobi Desert. However, the favorite habitats of brown bears are dense, remote from settlements, forests, where windbreaks and shrubs are abundant. In America, they inhabit forested mountains.

Previously, the species was so variable and widespread that it was subdivided into dozens of subspecies (some of them became extinct); some of them were considered species. However, now they are all combined into a single species, which includes several subspecies. The most famous of them are the following.

Common (European)

This subspecies is found in Europe, the Caucasus and Russia throughout the forest zone, except for the south of the European part of the country. It is of medium size.

This large subspecies of brown bear is widespread in Alaska and western Canada.

Kodiak

One of the largest carnivores in the world. Inhabits from the islands of Kodiak and Shuyak to Alaska.

Syrian

One of the smallest species of brown bears. It is found in the mountains of the Middle East, as well as in Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Tien Shansky

This relatively small bear is one of the smallest. Occurs in the Tien Shan mountains, Himalayas, Pamirs.

Description of the brown bear

The size of a brown bear is very individual and depends primarily on its geographical habitat. The body length of the animal is from 1.5 to 2.8 meters, the height at the withers is 0.9-1.5 m, the weight of males is 135-545 kg. Sometimes there are males, the body length of which reaches three meters, and the weight reaches 700 kg. The largest individuals live on Kodiak Island (USA), on the coast of Alaska, and on the territory of Russia - in Kamchatka. In the European part of Russia, brown bears weighing 250-300 kg are most often seen. Females are much smaller: their average weight is 90-250 kg. The weight of these animals also depends on the season - in the fall they are the most well-fed, because for a successful winter hibernation, they need to thoroughly stock up on subcutaneous fat.

The body of a brown bear is very powerful, the withers are high and muscular; the head is massive with a wide forehead, the eyes are small, the ears are rounded, the tail 5-20 cm long is almost invisible under the layer of wool. The fur of the animal is thick, the longest hair grows on the withers and on the back of the body, on the head and legs they are shorter.

Although our hero is called brown, he is not always painted in this particular color. In nature, you can meet black, light gray, straw yellow and even silver (grizzly in North America) individuals. Cubs of the same litter can be of different colors.

The build of the bear is heavy, awkward, and in order to maintain a large mass, its paws are plantigrade (when walking, the entire sole is pressed to the ground). This same feature allows him to rise freely and stand on his hind legs. It has 5 fingers on each paw, armed with curved non-retractable claws, the length of which can reach 10 cm.

Nature has not rewarded the clubfoot with keen hearing and vision, but compensated for this with an excellent sense of smell. When the animal stands on its hind legs, it tries to get more information about its surroundings using its scent.

How do brown bears live in nature?

Bears tend to be solitary. In search of food, they roam their vast areas. On the mainland, these areas can be 200-2000 km2 for males and 100-1000 km2 for females. The individual territory is vigilantly guarded from the invasion of strangers, and if some clubfoot encroaches on other people's possessions, a skirmish cannot be avoided. Adult males can seriously injure each other during territorial fights.

The diet

The brown bear, unlike its brother, the polar bear, cannot be called a predator in the full sense of the word. In contrast, about 75% of his diet is plant foods. These are nuts, berries, tubers and stems of herbaceous plants, seeds, acorns, etc.

Due to its muscular withers and enormous claws, the clubfoot is better suited for digging out small mammals, insects and underground parts of plants. The strong jaw muscles also allow the animal to cope with fibrous foods more easily and survive on a plant-based diet.

In general, the bear's menu depends on the season and the availability of different types of food. His diet also includes rodents, frogs, worms, lizards. He willingly eats carrion.

In some areas, brown bears hold real feasts when they find large concentrations of insects or come ashore during the salmon's spawning movement.

In some places they hunt ungulates. With one blow of its powerful paw, the animal can interrupt the spine of a deer. Sometimes bears hunt roe deer, wild boars, fallow deer, mountain goats. Often clubfoot significantly limit the number of these animals, hunting cubs.

When getting food, the beast relies mainly on its strength, and not on speed. However, despite the clumsy appearance, the clubfoot, if necessary, can run quite briskly - at a speed of up to 50 km / h. He swims well, and young individuals climb trees well.

Hibernation

Since bears descended from canines and evolved towards herbivorousness, they faced a problem - a lack of food in the winter. One of the decisions of nature was their ability to hibernate for the winter.

Usually, hibernating animals save a lot of energy due to a significant, sometimes almost zero, decrease in body temperature. The body temperature of bears that have climbed into the den decreases slightly (from 38 to 34 ° C), but the frequency of contraction of the heart and respiration in them decreases noticeably.

Brown bears are among those mammals that, in a state of sleep, can live up to 6 months without food, drink or excretion. Sleeping animals draw their energy mainly from fat reserves: the more plump the bear is when it hibernates, the less body weight it loses during sleep. This process is so efficient that bears rarely die during their winter sleep: death from hunger more often occurs in the spring, when the metabolic rate rises.

In the fall, bears are taken to the arrangement of the den. Most often, for their winter rookeries, they choose places on the outskirts of impenetrable swamps or along the banks of forest rivers and lakes. A prerequisite is remoteness from settlements. Rookeries are located under the roots of massive trees, in ravines, caves, crevices, holes, windbreaks. At the bottom of the den, the animal lays a litter of spruce branches, moss, bark, dry grass, etc.

Bears go into hibernation in October-December, and leave it in March-May. These times depend on many factors, but mainly on the geographic habitat. In different areas, sleep can last from 70 to 195 days.

Reproduction

The mating season for brown bears is in May-July. The male and female spend time together for several weeks, but as soon as mating has occurred, the animals scatter.

Pregnancy has its own characteristics: a fertilized egg in the female's body develops to the state of a blastocyst, then stops growing, and around November it is introduced into the uterus. During hibernation, pregnancy proceeds quite quickly, the fetus develops actively and after 6-8 weeks from 1 to 4 cubs are born. Thus, the total gestation period is 6.5-8.5 months.

High body temperature is necessary for bears to develop cubs that are born in the middle of winter. The birth of cubs in the middle of winter and their subsequent feeding by a mother who is in hibernation is an amazing phenomenon.

Cubs are born with open eyes and very fine hair. In proportion to the mass of the mother, they are very small (less than 1%), which is much less than in other placental mammals. However, feeding the cubs with milk in a den takes a lot of energy from the mother, as a result of which the female loses up to 40% of her body weight during the hibernation period.

The breeding rate of bears is quite low and depends on the region and the abundance of food. As a rule, a bear brings her first litter at the age of 5 to 10 years, and the interval between births of cubs is from 2 to 5 years. Females are able to reproduce until about 20 years of age.

In nature, brown bears live on average about 25 years. There is a known case when an animal in captivity lived to be 43 years old.

Population status

Due to its wide distribution and habitat in areas remote from each other, it is very difficult to determine the exact number of brown bears today. According to rough estimates, there are 200-250 thousand of these animals in the world. It seems that this is a fairly large figure, but we must not forget that many populations are extremely small and endangered. Tiny residual populations are scattered across Spain, Italy, France, Greece. In some areas of France, Austria, Poland, brown bears were brought from other places. Recovery of small populations is difficult due to the low rate of reproduction.

The conflict with humans, the only enemy of brown bears, is aggravated by the fact that each bear uses a very large territory. In Russia, Japan and some European countries, hunting brown bears is allowed. In our country, for example, 4-5 thousand animals are killed annually. This level of legal shooting is considered acceptable, but there is still the problem of poaching.

Most of the populations are listed in CITES Appendix II, the Chinese and Mongolian populations are listed in CITES Appendix I. American populations found in Alaska are listed as rare species by the IUCN.

In contact with

A bear is one of the animals that you hardly want to meet one on one. Its dimensions inspire genuine fear. Surprisingly, at birth, some bears weigh less than 200 grams, and here the question of how much an adult bear weighs unwittingly arises. It all depends on its type and individual characteristics. The most famous bears are considered: brown, black, white. Since the brown bear lives in our country, let us dwell on it in more detail.

Scope of distribution

Previously, the brown bear was found almost throughout Europe, including Ireland and England. The African Atlas Mountains were the southern border of the range, and in the east, bears were found even on the territory of modern Japan. On the territory of North America, he most likely came about 40 thousand years ago. Then he settled in territories from Alaska to the northern borders of Mexico. To date, the brown bear is widely distributed in Finland (in this country it was even declared a national animal) and Scandinavia, less often found in the center of Europe and the Carpathians. In addition, it also lives in the Iranian and Iraqi forests, northern China, Palestine, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese island of Hokkaido. In North America, the brown bear is called "grizzly", more often found in the western part of Canada, Alaska. In Russia, the brown bear lives in almost all forests of the country, except for the southern regions.

Appearance

The animal is strong, with a distinct withers on the back. The cover of the body is thick. The color of the coat is uniform. As a rule, bears molt in the spring, and the fur coat is renewed in the fall. ears are small, eyes are set deep. The tail is practically invisible under the coat and is only 2 cm long. The paws are quite strong, with curved claws (their length can reach 10 cm).

Brown bear weight and dimensions

The average body length of a brown bear is 1-2 meters. recorded in Kamchatka, the Far East and Alaska. These are real giants: their height in a standing position reaches three meters. In addition to height, many are interested in how much a bear weighs. Body weight depends on the sex and age of the animal. As a rule, the male is larger than the female. The weight of an adult bear (male) is 140-400 kg. But among them there are giant individuals weighing up to 600 kg. The female weighs on average 90-210 kg. A bear with a record body weight was discovered on Kodiak Island. His weight was 1134 kg, and his height was about 4 meters. Many people wonder how much a person living in Russia weighs? In our country, there are smaller individuals, their body weight on average is 100 kg. How much does a grizzly bear, a bear living in America, weigh? Grizzly bear is a subspecies of brown bear, its body weight can reach 500 kg. Individuals can weigh 700 kg.

Life span

How much does a bear weigh and how long does it live - these are probably the most frequently asked questions. Note that the animal directly depends on its habitat. In the wild, it can live 20-35 years. If an animal is kept in a zoo or a nature reserve, then it lives twice as long - about 50 years, or even more. Sexual maturity occurs at 6-11 years of age.

Behavior

The brown bear has a developed sense of smell. He smells meat well, even at a great distance. The bear has excellent hearing. Often stands on its hind legs in order to catch the direction of streams of smell or to listen to the sound that interests him. In the forest, he behaves like a real owner: he bypasses his possessions in the early morning or after dusk. In bad weather, it can wander through the forests for hours in search of food.

Lifestyle and nutritional habits

The brown bear is considered a forest animal. In Russia, its favorite places are dense forests with bushes and deciduous trees. It can enter the territory of the tundra and alpine forests. In Europe, it often lives in the mountains, and in North America, its favorite habitats are alpine meadows, tundra and the coast. The male usually lives alone, and the female with cubs. Each individual occupies a certain area from 70 to 400 km, while the male needs 7 times more area than the female. Of course, this does not depend on how much the bear weighs. It's just that the female lives with cubs more often, and it is more difficult for her to travel long distances than for a single male. The bears mark the boundaries of their plot with urine and scratches on the trees.

Animals are omnivorous. The diet consists of 75% plant foods - berries, tubers, grass stems, nuts, roots and acorns. In lean years, they can feed on corn and oat fields. The diet of a clubfoot can consist of ants, worms, small rodents (mice, chipmunks, ground squirrels). Although the bear is not a 100% predator, it can overwhelm a moose or roe deer. It is not uncommon for a grizzly bear to attack wolves, and in the Far East, bears sometimes hunt tigers. The favorite delicacy of this animal is honey (that's why it was called that). The fish is a seasonal hunting object. At the beginning of spawning, when there are still few fish, the bear eats the whole carcass, but when there is a lot of it, it eats only the parts rich in fat (head, milk and caviar). In hungry years, the bear can hunt domestic animals and often visit apiaries, ruining them.

The brown bear is active in the morning and evening hours. Seasonality is inherent in the lifestyle. By cold weather, the bear builds up a subcutaneous layer of fat and lies in a den to hibernate. At the same time, the average weight of the bear increases by 20%. A dry place under windbreaks or uprooted tree rhizomes serves as a den. On average, winter sleep lasts about 70-190 days and depends on the climate (October-March, November-April). It turns out that the clubfoot is in hibernation for about six months. Bears are hibernating for the longest time, old males are less. It is also interesting to know how much a brown bear weighs after a winter sleep. During this time, they can lose about 80 kg of mass. If during the summer and autumn the bear did not have time to accumulate a sufficient amount of fat, in winter it wakes up and begins to wander through the forest in search of food. Such bears are usually called cranks. The rods are dangerous and hungry, so they attack everyone, even a person. Most often, they rarely survive until the end of winter: they die from frost, severe hunger, or from a hunter's bullet.

Despite the fact that the weight of the brown bear is impressive, and it looks somewhat awkward, it runs quite fast, swims well and climbs trees perfectly. The punch is so powerful that it can break the back of a large bison or bull.

Reproduction

The female brings offspring once every 2-4 years. The stream takes place at the end of spring - beginning of summer, the duration is only 2-4 weeks. Males often fight among themselves during the breeding season, sometimes with a fatal outcome. occurs with several males, the course of pregnancy is latent, while the development of the embryo will begin only in November. Pregnancy lasts from 6 to 8 months, the birth itself takes place at the place of hibernation - in a den. There are up to 5 cubs in one litter. I wonder how much a bear weighs at birth, if in the future it reaches this size? The cubs weigh 340-680 grams at birth, their length is 25 cm. They are born completely blind and deaf, the hair is almost absent. Hearing appears only 14 days after birth, and they become sighted in a month. By 3 months, they have milk teeth and can feed on berries. The she-bear feeds the cubs with milk for up to 30 months. As a rule, the father does not take part in raising the offspring, on the contrary, he can eat the bear, because he sees in him a potential rival. Cubs begin to live independently without a mother by about 3-4 years.

Security

The brown bear is listed in the Red Book. This animal is vulnerable due to high mortality of young animals and slow reproduction. But the population has been growing lately. According to some reports, there are about 200 thousand individuals in the world, 120,000 of which live in Russia, 14,000 in Europe, 32,500 in the United States (most of them in Alaska), 21,500 in Canada. Bear hunting in many countries is limited or even prohibited.

The bear is the largest predator on earth. This animal belongs to the class mammals, predatory order, bear family, bear genus ( 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 a large head. Powerful jaws make it easy to gnaw at 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 the 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 get food from the ground, tear prey and climb trees. Many species of bears swim well. The polar bear has a special membrane between the toes for this. The life span of a bear can reach 45 years.

Bears are not distinguished by sharp eyesight and well-developed hearing. This is offset by an excellent sense of smell. Sometimes animals stand on their hind legs in order to obtain information about their surroundings with the help of their scent.

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

Does a bear have a tail?

Yes, but only the giant panda has a noticeable tail. In other species, it is short and practically indistinguishable in the fur.

Types of bears, names and photos

In the family, bear 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 hair with brownish, dark gray, reddish coloration, which varies from the habitat of the "clubfoot". Baby cubs often have large light tan marks on the chest or neck, although these marks disappear with age.

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

  • Polar (white) bear (Ursus maritimus)

It is the largest member of the family: its body length often reaches 3 meters, and its weight can exceed one ton. It has a long neck and a slightly flattened head - this distinguishes it from its fellow species. The color of the bear's fur is from boiling white to slightly yellowish, the hairs are hollow inside, therefore they give the bear's “fur coat” excellent thermal insulation properties. The soles of the paws are densely "lined" with bunches of coarse wool, which allows the polar bear to easily move on the ice cover without slipping. There is a membrane between the toes to facilitate swimming. The habitat of this species of bears is the circumpolar regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

  • Baribal (black bear) (Ursus americanus)

The bear looks a bit like a brown relative, but differs from it in smaller size and bluish-black fur. The length of an adult baribal does not exceed two meters, and the female bear is even smaller - their body is usually 1.5 meters long. A pointed muzzle, long legs, ending in rather short feet - this is what this representative of bears is remarkable for. By the way, baribals can become black only by the third year of life, at birth they get a gray or brownish color. The habitat of the black bear is vast: from the vastness of Alaska to the territories of Canada and hot Mexico.

  • Malay bear (biruang) (Helarctos malayanus)

The most "miniature" species among its bear brothers: 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 Malay bear are high, while large, long feet with huge claws look a little disproportionately. The body is covered with short and very hard black-brown fur, the chest of the animal is "decorated" with a white-red spot. The Malay 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 too large in size - this representative of the family is two times smaller than the 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 female is even smaller. The body of a bear, covered with shiny and silky hair of dark brown or black color, is crowned with a head with a pointed muzzle and large round ears. An obligatory "attribute" of the Himalayan bear's appearance is a spectacular white or yellowish spot on the chest. This species of bears lives in Iran and Afghanistan, is found in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas, in Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan, feels at ease in the vastness of the Khabarovsk Territory and in the south of Yakutia.

  • Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)

Predator of medium size - 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 shade, around the eyes there are necessarily white-yellow rings, smoothly turning into a whitish "collar" of fur on the neck of the animal. The habitat of this bear species is the countries of 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, at the withers, the height varies from 65 to 90 centimeters, females are about 30% smaller than males in both indicators. The body of the sloth beast is massive, the head is large, with a flat forehead and an excessively elongated muzzle, which ends in mobile, completely devoid of hair, protruding lips. The fur of the bear is long, usually black or dirty brown, in the neck of the animal it often forms a kind of shaggy mane. Sloth bear's chest has a light spot. The habitat of this species of bears is India, some areas of Pakistan, Bhutan, the territory of Bangladesh and Nepal.

  • Giant panda (bamboo bear) ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

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

Brown bears are large mammalian predators that impress with their power and strength. Despite the fact that animals live on different continents, it is customary to associate them with Russia. After all, a brown bear with a balalaika has become the national symbol of our country. In this article we will tell you everything about these magnificent predators: where they live, what they eat, how they differ from each other.

Types of brown bears

In total, there are about twenty species of these animals in the wild, living in different parts of the world. But the most numerous populations belong to the following species:

  • Apennine;
  • Siberian;
  • Gobi;
  • Tien Shansky;
  • Grizzly;
  • Kodiak.

Where does the brown bear live

Over the past century, the range of these predators has changed significantly. If earlier it was possible to meet a brown bear practically throughout the northern continents, as well as in Africa, now this species lives in only a few places. The reasons for this decline are predator hunting and deforestation. Main habitats:

  • Canada.
  • Forest zone of Russia.
  • Alaska.
  • Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines.
  • Hokkaido Island (Japan).
  • Palestine.
  • Central Europe.
  • Iran, Iraq.
  • China.
  • Carpathians.
  • Northwestern states of America.
  • Scandinavia and Finland.

Appearance and features

The brown bear is a large predator covered with thick brown fur, the darkness of which depends on the subspecies. The animal has a large head, small eyes, long, sharp fangs, rounded ears, a small depression on the bridge of the nose. It moves on four legs, each of them has five fingers with large sickle-shaped claws reaching 10 cm in length. These characteristics made these forest dwellers one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. And this is really justified, because a meeting with a wild predator can end very tragically. The environment and subspecies of the animal affect its size.

  • The largest individuals live in Alaska and Kamchatka. Their body length reaches 2.5 meters with a height at the withers - 1.3 m, and if the animal stands on its hind legs, then its height can reach three meters. Females are much smaller than males.
  • The average weight of Kamchatka predators is 300–450 kg. But this figure increases significantly with the approach of winter, and before hibernation, adult males can reach a mass of 700 kg.
  • The inhabitants of Alaska are much larger, and their usual weight is from 700 kg to one ton. The largest captured animal weighed 1130 kg.
  • The smallest representatives of this species are European bears. In most cases, their body weight does not exceed 400 kg, and their length reaches 1.2–1.5 m.

Behavior

Brown bears "settle" in a dense forest near water bodies. In this case, the predator leaves its "jungle" in extreme cases, only when it is tormented by hunger. If food runs out on the territory of a bear, then it can wander. For example, the alpine mountain subspecies lives in the valleys in spring, then moves to meadows, and by the end of summer it moves into the forest.

By nature, these predators are solitary animals. Males live separately from females with cubs. Moreover, each individual has its own territory, which can reach from 70 to 400 square meters. The space occupied by the female is up to seven times less than the area of ​​the male. Animals delimit their "allotments" with the help of scratches and a specific smell that remains on the bark of trees.


Seasonal features

The activity of this mammal is dependent on seasonal cycles. In summer they fatten up, build dens in autumn, and hibernate in winter. For their wintering, animals choose a place on land in the very wilderness of the forest. These can be holes under windbreaks, rock crevices, small caves. In some cases, bears dig their own den on their own. Before hibernation, the animal “creates comfort” in the dwelling, namely, lays the surface of the den with leaves and dry branches. Females and males sleep separately from each other. If the bear has cubs, then they lie with the mother.

Hibernation is a period of shallow sleep of animals. It begins in the fall and continues until the arrival of spring. Moreover, the duration of this phenomenon depends on the local climate and other natural factors, and can reach from 70 to 200 days.

Animals wake up at the moment when their subcutaneous stores are completely depleted. This usually happens in early spring. If the animal did not manage to get enough fat during the summer and autumn, then it can come out of hibernation in winter. Such an animal is called a "connecting rod". The awakened bear is a great danger, because at this moment he can attack anyone because of hunger.


Nutrition

Bears are omnivorous, and most of their menu consists of various roots, berries, nuts, insects. If possible, it can also eat small animals, amphibians and reptiles. Bears love honey, so they often break wild bee hives or ruin farm apiaries. They are excellent fishermen, and fish plays a significant role in their diet.

Brown bears very rarely hunt large mammals. But if the beast does not have enough food, then this can happen. The hunt is for roe deer, deer, fallow deer and other artiodactyls. In rare cases, wolves or bears of other species can "bully".

For all their external clumsiness, these animals are excellent hunters, and can reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour. Bears can sneak up and kill large moose with one blow.


Reproduction

The mating season for predators begins in May. At this moment, the animals are especially aggressive and it is better to avoid meeting them. Pregnancy of female bears lasts seven months, after which 2-3 cubs are born. The weight of newborn cubs does not exceed half a kilogram, and babies are born absolutely helpless. They go into hibernation with their mother. The she-bear feeds the babies with milk, but at the same time teaches them the basics of hunting. Cubs that have reached three to four years of age begin an independent life. At the age of six, bears become sexually mature. The average lifespan of these animals is 20 years. In captivity, this period can double.

Video