• Class: Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 = Mammals
  • Infraclass: Eutheria, Placentalia Gill, 1872 = Placentals, Higher Beasts
  • Detachment:
  • Family: Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 = Carnivores
  • Family: Ursidae Gray, 1825 = Bears, bears
  • Genus: Ursus Linnaeus, 1758 = Bears

Is the bear a predator?

Basically, bears are content with plant food, but in case of a lack of it and once having tasted animal meat, it becomes a predator in the full sense of the word, especially scary for domestic animals. He is quite considered the worst enemy of horses, cows, etc.

Having tasted meat, the bear loses its good-natured disposition and becomes very bloodthirsty. Many hunters say that the bear also feeds on carrion. At least in Siberia, it often happens that during the death of livestock, peasants bury their dead animals, and bears dig them out to satisfy their hunger. Having worked up their body and fat during the summer and autumn, with the approach of winter, the bears prepare a den for themselves in some cave, or in the hollows of trees, or in a forest thicket.

Before lying down in a den, the bear confuses its tracks like a hare, winds through the windbreak, mossy swamps, on the water, jumps sideways from the track through the deadwood, in a word, it will walk back and forth more than once. Only then will he lie down, reassured that the trail is well entangled.

If the summer was low in food, then some, especially thin, bears do not lie in a den at all, hungry wandering all winter. These rods, as they are called, are "death row", they will die before spring. Cranks are dangerous to man, cattle and any animal - even to a bear sleeping in a den. There was a case: a small bear-connecting rod dug out the den of a bear, which was, healthier than him, bitten and ate the sleepy Toptygin. Some bears, in places where it is not very cold, lie down to winter right among young spruce trees, only their tops are bent over themselves - it will turn out to be something like a hut, and they sleep in it. But where the winter is cold, they dig a hole for a den somewhere near the water, in a swamp, under the root of a fallen tree. Others cover the pit with brushwood, branches, moss. Such a den, as they say, has a "sky", that is, a roof. A hole in a den, an outlet, is called a "brow".

They talk about a bear as if it sucks its paw in winter. Maybe some people suck because they think that the sole on the soles sheds and itches. But, says A. Cherkasov, he did not hear something about bears being hunted in dens with sucked paws: they all have dry, dirty since autumn, covered in dust and with dried mud.

The more east the bears live, the larger they are. In the Old World, the largest bears are Kamchatka bears. In Alaska and some islands close to it, even larger specimens are found. This brown bear kadlyak is a heavyweight champion among all predators on Earth (up to 751 kg in weight). When this animal stands leaning on all four legs, then at the withers its height is up to 130 cm (for a European bear, on average, 1 m).

The she-bear retires to the den at the beginning of November, while the bears roam in December, despite the snow and frost. And some old animals lead a wandering life all winter. Even the bears that have retired to the den do not always fall into deep hibernation, only the heavily eaten, fat bears sleep motionless, the rest lie very sensitively and stick their heads out of the den, or "greet" - as the hunters say - at each approach of a person; and the she-bears sometimes rush directly at the troublemaker. Smelling the smell of spring, they get out of the den into the light.

Hungry for the winter, he goes to get food. But first he takes a laxative - in the form of cranberries and moss, of which he eats a huge amount. Having cleared his stomach, he hastens to strengthen his body, weakened by hibernation. In this rather hungry time, he can pounce on livestock.

We all know these powerful animals from childhood. But few people know what types of bears exist. Pictures in children's books most often introduced us to brown and polar bears. It turns out that there are several species of these animals on Earth. Let's get to know them better.

Bear appearance

If we compare bears with other predators, then they differ in the most monotonous appearance, features of the internal structure, and size. Currently, these are the largest representatives of terrestrial predatory animals. For example, polar bears can reach a body length of up to three meters with a weight of 750 or even 1000 kg!

The fur of animals has a well-developed undercoat, it is rather rough to the touch. The hair is high. Only he cannot boast of such a fur coat - his cover is low and rare.

The color is varied - from black to white, it can be contrasting. The color does not change over the seasons.

Lifestyle

Different types of bears live in a wide variety of conditions. They feel great in the steppes and highlands, in forests and in the Arctic ice. In this regard, the species of bears differ in the way of feeding and lifestyle. Most of these predators prefer to settle in mountainous or lowland forests, much less often in treeless highlands.

Bears are active mainly at night. The only exception is the polar bear - a species of animal that leads a diurnal lifestyle.

Bears are omnivorous. However, some species have a preference for one or another food. For example, a polar bear almost always eats mammalian meat; for a panda, there is no better treat than bamboo shoots. True, they supplement it with a small amount of animal food.

Variety of species

Quite often, animal lovers ask the question: "How many species of bears live on Earth?" To those who are interested in these animals, it seems that there are a myriad of them. Unfortunately, this is not so. Today our planet is inhabited by species of bears, the list of which can be presented as follows:


There are subspecies and varieties of these animals, but we will talk about this in another article.

Brown bears

They are large and clumsy-looking animals. They belong to the bear family. Body length - from 200 to 280 cm.

This is a fairly common form. inhabits the entire territory of the Eurasian and North American forests. Nowadays, this predator has completely disappeared from the territory of Japan, although in ancient times it was widespread here. On the territory of Western and Central Europe, the brown bear can be found quite rarely, in some mountainous regions. There is reason to assert that it is an endangered species in these territories. The brown bear is still widespread in Siberia, the Far East and the northern regions of our country.

Brown bears are sedentary animals. A forest area occupied by one individual can reach several hundred square kilometers. This is not to say that bears strictly guard the borders of their territories. Each site has permanent places where the animal feeds, builds temporary shelters and dens.

Despite the sedentary nature, this predator can wander in hungry years in search of more abundant food over a distance of more than 300 kilometers.

Hibernation

Everyone knows that the brown bear hibernates in winter. Previously, he carefully prepares his den, which he equips in hard-to-reach places - on islets in the middle of swamps, in a windbreak. The bear covers the bottom of its winter dwelling with dry grass or moss.

To survive the winter safely, a bear must accumulate at least fifty kilograms of fat. To do this, he eats about 700 kilograms of berries and about 500 kilograms of pine nuts, not counting other feed. When a year is bad for berries, bears in the northern regions raid the fields sown with oats, and in the southern regions - on corn crops. Some bears attack and destroy apiaries.

Many believe that during hibernation, animals fall into suspended animation. This is not entirely true. They sleep quite lightly. During hibernation, when the animal lies motionless, its cardiac and pulmonary systems slow down. The body temperature of a bear ranges from 29 to 34 degrees. Every 5-10 breaths there is a long pause, sometimes lasting up to four minutes. In this state, the fat reserve is consumed sparingly. If, during this period, the bear is raised from the den, it begins to quickly lose weight and is in dire need of food. Such a bear turns into a "vagabond", or, as the people call it, a crank. In this state, he is very dangerous.

Depending on climatic conditions, the predator can hibernate for three to six months. In the presence of food in the southern regions, bears generally do not go into continuous hibernation, but fall asleep only for a short time. Females with one-year-old cubs sleep in the same den.

Nutrition

Different types of bears prefer to eat different foods. Animals of this species most often feed on fruits, berries and other plant foods, but sometimes they can eat ants, insect larvae, rodents, along with winter supplies. Quite rarely, males hunt forest ungulates. Despite the outward clumsiness, the brown bear can be very fast and agile. It sneaks up on its prey unnoticed and grabs it in a swift throw. Moreover, its speed reaches 50 km / h.

White bears

IUCN - The International Union for Conservation of Nature has expanded the list of critically endangered animals for the first time in several years. New species have appeared in it. Polar bears were included not only in this international list, but also in the Red Book of Russia. Today their number is only 25 thousand individuals. According to scientists, this population will decline by almost 70% in the next 50 years.

Rare species of bears (you can see the photo in our article), which recently include white individuals, suffer from industrial pollution of their habitats, global warming and, of course, poaching.

Appearance

Many people believe that white, polar, northern, sea or oshkui are species of polar bears. In fact, this is the name of one species of predatory mammal from the bear family, the closest relative of the brown bear.

Its length is three meters, weight is about a ton. The largest animals are found off the coast, the smallest - on Svalbard.

Polar bears are distinguished from other species by their long hair and flat head. The color can be completely white or with a yellowish tinge. In summer, the fur turns yellow when exposed to sunlight. The skin of these animals is black.

The soles of the paws are reliably protected by wool so that they do not slip on the ice and do not freeze.

Lifestyle and nutrition

According to scientists, the polar bear is the most predatory of the entire family. After all, he practically does not use plant foods. Various types of bears (photos and names of which are posted in our article) are almost never the first to attack a person. Unlike their counterparts, the polar bear hunts people quite often.

Basically, the “menu” of these predators is made up of seals, mainly the ringed seal. In addition, he feeds on whatever animals he manages to kill. These can be rodents, birds, walruses, whales, washed ashore. For the predator itself, the danger is represented by killer whales, which can sometimes attack in the water.

Reproduction

In October, females begin to dig a den in the snow. They settle there in mid-November. Pregnancy lasts 230-240 days. Cubs are born at the end of the arctic winter. For the first time, a female gives birth to offspring when she is 4-6 years old. Cubs appear once every two to three years. There are from one to three cubs in a litter. Newborns are completely helpless, weighing about 750 grams. Babies begin to see in a month, two months later, their teeth erupt, babies begin to gradually leave the den. They do not part with the bear until one and a half years. Polar bears are not fertile, so their numbers are recovering too slowly.

Bear black

It is also called baribal. Its body length is 1.8 m, its weight is about 150 kg. The bear has a sharp snout, high paws with long and sharp claws, short and smooth black hair. Sometimes the color is black and brown, except for a light yellow muzzle.

The black bear eats exclusively plant foods - larvae, insects, and small vertebrates.

The female's pregnancy lasts up to 210 days, the cubs are born in January-February, weighing 400 grams, stay with their mother until April.

Himalayan bear

This animal is inferior in size to the brown one. In addition, these types of bears differ in appearance. The Himalayan bear has a slender physique, a thin muzzle. Thick and lush coat is usually black with a white, sometimes yellowish spot on the chest (it resembles the letter V in shape).

Large adults can reach a length of 170 cm with a weight of 140-150 kg. Habitat - East Asia. In the west, it can be found in Afghanistan, in Indochina, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. On the territory of our country, it is found only in the Ussuriysk Territory, north of the Amur.

In the spring it feeds on last year's acorns and pine nuts. In summer, she enjoys eating juicy grass, berries, insects with pleasure. There is information that in South Asia, he often attacks domestic animals, can be dangerous to humans.

There are usually two cubs in a litter. Their weight does not exceed 400 grams. They develop very slowly, even at the age of a month and a half, completely helpless.

Spectacled bear

We continue to study the species of bears, getting acquainted with the indigenous inhabitant of South America. He settles in the mountains - from Colombia to Northern Chile. This spectacled bear is not very large in size. Its body, no more than 1.7 m long, weighs about 140 kg.

The bear is covered with thick, shaggy hair of black or black-brown color, with white spots around the eyes (hence its name). Preferring mountains, the animal also often appears on meadow slopes. Its biology is still poorly understood, but at the same time, scientists consider it to be the most herbivorous in the entire family. He is a lover of leaves and roots, fruits and branches of young shrubs. Sometimes, for his favorite delicacy, he climbs high palm trees, breaks young branches, and then eats them on the ground.

Sloth bear

For our compatriots, the last animals on our list are exotic bear species. Photos and their names you can see in numerous domestic and foreign publications about animals.

Sloth bear is an inhabitant of tropical countries. He lives in the forests of Hindustan and Ceylon. In length it can be up to 1.8 m, weight is about 140 kg. This is a rather slender animal, on high legs, with huge claws. The muzzle is somewhat pointed. On the chest there is a light V-shaped mark. The bear is active at night. During the day, he sleeps soundly, while (which is typical only for this species), snores surprisingly loudly.

The sloth beetle feeds mainly on fruits and insects. With the help of huge claws, he easily breaks rotten, dilapidated tree trunks, and then he sets in motion an amazing device that may resemble a pump. The long muzzle of the animal has very mobile lips, which stretch out to form a kind of tube.

The sloth beast lacks an upper pair of incisors, as a result of which there is a gap in the oral cavity. This feature allows the animal to catch termites. First, he blows all dust and dirt out of the insect's "house", and then draws in the prey through lips extended into a tube.

Sloth mating occurs in June, after seven months 2-3 babies appear. They spend 3 months in a shelter with their mother. At first, the father of the family takes care of his cubs, which is not typical of other bear species.

Panda

This animal, 1.2 m long and weighing up to 160 kg, lives in the mountain forests of the western provinces of China. Prefers solitude, with the exception of mating time. It is usually spring.

The offspring appears in January. Basically, 2 cubs are born, each weighing about two kilograms. Unlike other bears, it does not hibernate. It feeds on various plants, bamboo roots, sometimes small rodents and fish.

Biruang

This is the name of the Malay bear. This is the smallest member of the bear family. Its body length does not exceed 1.4 m, its height is no more than 0.7 m, and its weight is about 65 kg. Despite its modest size, compared to its brethren, this animal is strong. Biruang has a short snout, wide paws with powerful curved claws. The body of the animal is covered with smooth, short, straight black hair. There is a white or orange horseshoe mark on the chest. The muzzle is orange or gray. Sometimes the legs are also light.

Biruang is a nocturnal animal, so during the day he sleeps and bask in the sun's rays, in the branches of trees. By the way, he climbs trees perfectly and feels completely comfortable on them.

It feeds on young shoots. The female brings two cubs. The animal does not hibernate.

The Bears are considered the largest of the predators currently living on our planet. Despite this, they more often than other carnivorous mammals prefer plant foods over animal meat.

Bear appearance

Teeth and Claws: Bears' fangs are quite powerful, as in other carnivorous animals. The molars have a flat, uneven surface that is easy to chew. This is due to the mixed diet, bears eat both animal and plant foods. Each paw has five long toes with large and sharp claws that do not retract. With this tool, bears dig up edible roots and fruits from the ground. In addition, the predator tears prey into small pieces with sharp claws.

Sense organs: Bears have small, set eyes close to each other. The fields of view of both eyes overlap, so the animal sees objects as three-dimensional. In general, bears have poor eyesight. Hearing is also not very well developed. The bear has a better sense of smell. The bear often stands on its hind legs and twirls its head to probe with its nose and gain information about its surroundings.

Communication: Bears communicate with each other using sounds and body movements. For example, the position of an animal's ears conveys information about the owner's mood. Having met, the bears raise their heads to each other and growl without opening their mouths. Flat bear teeth grind any food. A giant brown bear catches fish in rivers.

Modes of movement: Bears have rather short limbs. They walk, resting on the entire surface of the foot. The paws of bears are curved in the shape of the letter "O", so these animals are clubfoot and walk, waddling from side to side. But when danger arises or in pursuit of prey, bears are able to run at a trot and even at a gallop. In case of danger, the bear stands on its hind legs. Bear cubs and adults of some species climb trees and swim, and the polar bear is the only mammal that swims only with the help of its forelimbs.
Body structure: Various differ in size, but their structure is similar: a powerful body, short strong legs, a massive head and a very short tail.

HAIR: Bears have several types of hair, from thick yellowish-white hair in polar bears to long, fluffy hair in Sloths. The fur of most species of bears is brown, perfect for camouflaging animals in the forest.

Did you know? That the giant brown bear living in North America is called "Kodiak" in other languages. This is the name of the island on which these representatives of the subspecies are found. A bear standing on its hind legs can reach up to 3 m in height.
The polar bear can be found in the open sea at a distance of 80 km from the coast.
Bears walk slowly, waddling, but if necessary, they can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h. The grizzly bear menu is 80% plant-based.

The habitats of polar bears and arctic foxes are located in the Far North. They are hardy mammals. Almost all bears are endangered and protected by law.
Once upon a time, many brown bears lived in Europe. Now their number has decreased, but they still remain the most numerous species in the family. In the past, the polar bear was an object of hunting. People ate his meat and sewed clothes from his skin.
The polar bear has acclimatized better than other animals in the permafrost region.

Seven species of bears, belonging to four genera, live primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. Only the spectacled bear lives in the south. All bears, with the exception of the polar bear, which inhabits the snow-covered arctic deserts, are inhabitants of deep forests. Their only enemy is man. Now only two species of bears are not threatened with extinction.

The origin of bears

The first bear, the ancestor of all modern bear species, (Ursavus), who lived on Earth 20 million years ago. He was the size of a small dog and inhabited the territory of modern Europe, where at that time a hot subtropical climate, rich in generous vegetation, reigned. Bears, along with foxes, dogs and raccoons, descend from their common ancestor - a small predator of the Miacidae family that lived 30-40 million years ago and climbed trees. As a result of evolution, new species of bears arose, which gradually became larger, larger and stronger. Many, including the cave bear, which was larger than modern bears, have become extinct. The youngest species in the family is the polar bear, which appeared 70,000 years ago.

  1. Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus): body length 1.3-1.8 m. The only representative of the family in South America.
  2. Malay bear (Helarctos malayanus): body length 1-1.4 m. This small representative of the family lives in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Rare.
  3. Sloth beetle (Melursus ursinus): body length 1.4-1.8 m.Lives in the jungles of India and Sri Lanka. Herbivorous. She collects termites and insects with her lips and tongue.
  4. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus): body length 1.8-3 m. Inhabits the northern regions of the Arctic, feeds mainly on seals.
  5. Brown bear (Ursus arctos): length 2-3 m, lives in North America, Europe and Asia. There are several subspecies: the grizzly bear, the giant brown bear, and the European brown bear.
  6. Baribal, black bear (Ursus americanus): body length 1.3-1.8 m, found in the forests of North America. Like other members of the family, it eats mixed food.
  7. White-breasted bear (Ursus thibetanus): body length 1.4-2 m. Lives in forests and spends most of the time in trees. It feeds on herbs, fruits and berries.

Breeding bears

Bears live alone, meeting only during the breeding season. The mating period, depending on the species, occurs at different times of the year. Some species of bears, in particular the Malay bear, can breed throughout the year - they live in tropical rainforests, where they have enough food. In addition, the Malay bear belongs to monogamy. After mating, the male and female part. Only the she-bear is engaged in raising offspring.

The gestation period is 180-250 days and depends on the type of bear. A bear brood consists of 1-4 cubs, which are born blind, toothless, covered with sparse hair. They spend at least a year in the ancestral nest, feeding on their mother's milk. The polar bear never lacks food and therefore does not fall into winter sleep. However, pregnant females and mothers with cubs hibernate. In the spring, the she-bear leaves her den, accompanied by fluffy and playful cubs. Cubs relentlessly follow her, learn to find food and recognize danger. Bears of various species reach sexual maturity at the age of 2.5-5 years.

Bears lifestyle

Bears are territorial animals. Each individual is the owner of a sufficiently large area, controls which it hunts and hibernates. Females up to two years old live with cubs. Bears are inveterate loners, but in places rich in food, for example, in a berry meadow, several individuals can be found at once. When they are full, they disperse. But the bear invaded foreign territory, a meeting with the owner awaits, which may end in a clash. The search for food takes a long time, so bears are active day and night. Bears sleep in disguised shelters - dens, which are located in recesses under the roots of trees. A white-breasted bear makes a nest in a tree. Bears of the genus Ursus, living in cold climates, hibernate in winter. Winter sleep lasts from 78 to 200 days. The exact time depends on the area. During hibernation, bears arrange for themselves a den among the windbreak, under the roots of trees, or dig it on the slopes of mountains and hills. They line and insulate dens with grass, leaves and moss. Bears hibernate for a long time in order to survive the hungry winter.

Bears or bears (lat. Ursidae) are a family that includes mammals from the order of predatory animals. The difference between all bears from other canine animals is represented by a more stocky and well-developed physique.

Description of the bear

All mammals from the order Carnivores originate from a group of marten-like primitive predators known as myacids (Miacidae), who lived in the Paleocene and Eocene. All bears belong to the rather numerous suborder Caniformia. It is assumed that all well-known representatives of this suborder descended from one canine-like ancestor, common to all species of such animals.

Relative to the rest of the families from the order of predatory animals, bears are animals with the greatest uniformity in appearance, size, and also have many similarities in their internal structure. All bears are among the largest representatives of terrestrial modern predatory animals.... The body length of an adult polar bear reaches three meters with a mass in the range of 720-890 kg, and the Malay bear belongs to the smallest representatives of the family, and its length does not exceed one and a half meters with a body weight of 27-65 kg.

Appearance, colors

Male bears are about 10-20% larger than females, and in polar bears, these figures can even be 150% or more. The fur of the animal has a developed and rather coarse undercoat. The high, sometimes shaggy type of hairline in most species has a pronounced density, and the fur of the Malay bear is low and rather sparse.

The color of the fur is monochromatic, from coal-black to whitish. The exception is, which has a characteristic contrasting black and white color. There may be light markings in the chest area or around the eyes. Some species are characterized by individual and so-called geographic variability in fur color. Bears exhibit a marked seasonal dimorphism, expressed by changes in the height and density of their fur.

All representatives of the Bear family are distinguished by a stocky and powerful body, often with a fairly high and pronounced withers. Characteristic are also strong and well-developed, five-toed paws with large, non-retractable claws. The claws are controlled by powerful muscles, thanks to which the animals climb trees, dig the ground, and also easily tear apart prey. The length of the grizzly's claws reaches 13-15 cm... The gait of a plantigrade predatory animal is characterized by a shuffling gait. The giant panda has a sixth additional "toe" on its front legs, which is an outgrowth of the sesame-shaped radius.

The tail is very short, almost invisible under the fur. The exception is the giant panda, which has a fairly long and well-visible tail. Any bear has relatively small eyes, a large head located on a thick and, as a rule, short neck. The skull is large, most often with an elongated facial region and well-developed ridges.

It is interesting! Bears have a highly developed sense of smell, and in some species it is quite comparable to a dog's sense of smell, but the sight and hearing of such numerous and large predators is much weaker.

The zygomatic arches are most often slightly spaced in different directions, and the jaws are powerful, providing very high rates of bite force. All representatives of the Bear family are characterized by the presence of large canines and incisors, and the rest of the teeth can be partially reduced, but their appearance and structure most often depend on the type of nutrition. The total number of teeth can vary from 32-42 pieces. The presence of individual or age-related variability in the dental system is also often observed.

Character and lifestyle

Bears are typical solitary predators, so these animals prefer to meet each other solely for the purpose of mating. Males behave, as a rule, aggressively and are able to kill cubs that are near the female for a long time. Representatives of the Bear family are distinguished by good adaptability to a variety of living conditions, therefore, they are able to inhabit high-mountain regions, forest zones, Arctic ice and steppes, and the main differences are in the way of food and lifestyle.

A significant part of the bear species lives in the lowland and mountain forest zones of temperate or tropical latitudes. A little less often the predator is found in high-mountainous zones without dense vegetation. Some species are clearly associated with the aquatic environment, including mountain or forest streams, rivers and seashores. Arctic, as well as vast expanses

It is interesting! The Arctic Ocean is a natural habitat for polar bears, and the lifestyle of an ordinary brown bear is associated with subtropical forests, taiga, steppes and tundra, and desert areas.

Most bears belong to the category of terrestrial predatory animals, but polar bears are semi-aquatic representatives of the family. Malay bears are typical adherents of a semi-arboreal lifestyle, therefore they are able to climb trees perfectly and equip themselves with a shelter or, the so-called "nest". Some species of bears choose holes near the root system of trees and crevices of sufficient size as their habitat.

As a rule, representatives of the Bear family and the Predatory order are nocturnal, therefore they rarely go hunting in the daytime. However, polar bears may be considered an exception to these general rules. Predatory mammals, leading a solitary lifestyle, unite during the period of "mating games" and mating, as well as for raising their offspring. Among other things, groups of such animals are observed at common watering holes and at traditional feeding grounds.

How long do bears live?

The average lifespan of bears in nature can vary depending on the species characteristics of this predatory mammal:

  • Spectacled bears - two decades;
  • Apennine brown bears - up to twenty years;
  • Tien Shan brown bears - up to twenty years or a quarter of a century;
  • Polar polar bears - just over a quarter of a century;
  • Sloths are a little less than twenty years old.

In captivity, the average lifespan of a carnivorous mammal, as a rule, is noticeably longer. For example, brown bears can live in captivity for more than 40-45 years.

Types of bears

Areal, distribution

Spectacled bears are the only members of the Bear family that inhabit South America, where the predator prefers the mountain forests of Venezuela and Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, as well as Bolivia and Panama. - an inhabitant of the basin of the Lena, Kolyma and Anadyr rivers, most of Eastern Siberia and the Stanovoy ridge, Northern Mongolia, some regions of China and the border area of ​​Eastern Kazakhstan.

Grizzlies are found predominantly in western Canada and Alaska, with a small number surviving in mainland America, including Montana and northwestern Washington. Tien Shan brown bears are found on the Tien Shan ridges, as well as in the Dzhungar Alatau, which has peripheral mountain ranges, and the Mazalai are found in the desert mountains Tsagan-Bogdo and Atas-Bogdo, where rare bushes and dry drainage channels are located.

Polar bears are distributed circumpolar, and live in the circumpolar regions in the northern hemisphere of our planet. White-chested Himalayan bears prefer the hilly and mountainous forests of Iran and Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Himalayas, all the way to Japan and Korea. Representatives of the species in the summer in the Himalayas rise to a height of three and even four thousand meters, and with the onset of cold weather they descend to the mountain foot.

Sloth bears live mainly in the tropics and subtropical forests of India and Pakistan, in Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as in Bangladesh and Bhutan. Biruangi are distributed from the northeastern part of India to Indonesia, including Sumatra and Kalimantan, and the island of Borneo is inhabited by the subspecies Helаrctos mаlаyаnus eurysрilus.

Bears in the ecosystem of the planet

All representatives of the Bear family, due to the peculiarities of the diet and impressive size, have a very noticeable effect on the fauna and flora in their habitats. Species White and brown bears are involved in the regulation of the total number of ungulates and other animals.

All herbivorous species of bears contribute to the active spread of seeds of many plants. Polar bears are often accompanied by arctic foxes that eat up their prey.

The diet of the bears

Spectacled bears are the most herbivorous in the family, and their main diet includes grassy shoots, fruits and rhizomes of plants, crops of corn, and sometimes insects in the form of ants or termites. Fish plays an important role in the diet of the Siberian bear, and Kodiaks are omnivores that eat both herbaceous plants, berries and roots, and meat food, including fish and all kinds of carrion.

Pika-eating bears or Tibetan brown bears feed mainly on herbaceous plants, as well as pikas, which is why they got their name. The main prey for polar bears is ringed seals, bearded seals, walruses and many other marine animals. The predator does not disdain carrion, willingly feeds on dead fish, eggs and chicks, can eat grass and all kinds of seaweed, and in inhabited areas looks for food in numerous garbage dumps.

The diet of white-breasted or Himalayan bears is 80-85% represented by plant products, but the predator is able to eat ants and other insects, as well as highly nutritious mollusks and even frogs. Sloth bears, likewise, are adapted to eat predominantly colonial insects, including termites and ants. All biruangs are omnivorous, but predominantly feed on insects, including bees and termites, as well as fruits and shoots, earthworms, and plant rhizomes.