What kind of fur does a bear have? Brown bear: brief description, weight, dimensions. Habits of a brown bear. Enemies in nature

Brown bear, short description which we will consider in this article, is a characteristic inhabitant of taiga-type forests. It can be found almost throughout Russia, especially in Siberia and the Far East. It is found in coniferous, deciduous, and even mixed areas. different countries, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. So, get acquainted: the owner of the Russian taiga is a brown bear!

Brief description of the species

brown or common bear- This predatory mammal, representing the bear family. Currently, the brown bear is the largest land predator in the world. The duration of his life in nature is estimated at 30 years. In captivity, a predator can live up to 50 years. Linguists believe that the name of this beast is composed of two words - “knowing” and “honey”. And this is understandable: despite its belonging to predators, the bear is a big lover of sweet honey and in general

Nutrition

The diet of clubfoot for ¾ consists of plant foods. These are various berries, nuts, acorns, rhizomes and tubers of plants. Sometimes these predators even eat grass. In lean years, brown bears, like foxes, encroach on oat crops at the stage of their milky ripeness, and various insects, reptiles, amphibians, small rodents, fish, and, of course, large ungulates, make up food for animals. For example, it costs nothing for a clumsy giant to kill an adult large elk with one blow of its powerful clawed paw!

Brief description of subspecies

The numerical difference between brown bears is so great that once these animals were classified into independent species. Currently, all brown bears are combined into one single species, which combines several subspecies or geographic races. So, brown bears include:

ordinary (Eurasian or European);
Californian;
Siberian;
satin;
gobi;
grizzly or mexican;
Tien Shan;
Ussuri or Japanese;
kodiak;
Tibetan.

Giant heavyweights

As you already understood, the brown bear, which we describe in this article, is the most common type of clubfoot in the world. Although it is called brown, it is not always painted in this particular color. In nature, you can meet black, and beige, and yellow, and even fiery red bears. But we will talk about the color of their coat a little later. Now we are interested in their sizes.

The sizes of these animals vary depending on their gender, age and habitat. But males are in any case larger than females and weigh 30% more. Most brown bears have a height at the withers ranging from 75 to 160 centimeters. Body length mainly ranges from 1.6 to 2.9 meters.

Weight brown bear directly depends on its habitat. One of the largest animals are bears that live on the Scandinavian Peninsula and, of course, on the territory of our country. Their weight is 350 kilograms. Their American relatives, living in and also inhabiting Canada, can sometimes weigh more than 400 kilograms of net weight. Their name is grizzly, or gray-haired.

The brown bear, whose size is considered impressive all over the world, is also found in Kamchatka and Alaska. There, these predators weigh more than 500 kilograms. Cases of hunting for brown bears are described, presumably reaching a weight of 1 ton! However, for the most part, these shaggy heavyweights do not exceed 350 kilograms of net weight. The maximum fixed weight, for example, Kamchatka bear was 600 kilograms. The animals preserved in Europe are small in size. Their weight does not exceed 90 kilograms.

Appearance

The brown bear, whose dimensions we examined above, has a pronounced barrel-shaped and powerful body with high withers (shoulder height). This body is held by massive and high paws with flat clawed soles. The length of the claws of this furry giant ranges from 8 to 12 centimeters. These animals practically do not have a tail, since its length does not exceed 21 centimeters.

The shape of the brown bear's head is round. It has small blind eyes and small ears. The muzzle is elongated, and the forehead is high. The owner of the Russian taiga is covered with thick and evenly colored wool. bears, like their size, is changeable. It all depends on certain habitats of these animals. For example, well-known ones may have brown hair with a silver tint. For this, by the way, they were called gray-haired.

Spreading

As mentioned earlier, bears are forest dwellers. We repeat that their typical habitats, for example, in Russia, are continuous forest tracts with dense growth of grasses, shrubs and hardwoods. The brown bear, a brief description of which we consider in this article, is found in both tundra and alpine forests. In Europe, he prefers mountain forests, and, for example, in North America it can be found on alpine meadows, in coastal forests.

Once upon a time, these animals inhabited the whole of Europe, including Ireland and Great Britain, and in the south the globe its habitat reached the African Atlas Mountains. To the east, this species of hairy heavyweights was distributed through Siberia and China to Japan. Scientists believe that brown bears came to North America from Asia about 40,000 years ago. They are sure that these animals were able to cross the Bering Isthmus on their own, settling in the west of America from Alaska to Mexico.

Winter dream

As you know, the physiological criterion of the brown bear is such that these animals hibernate for the winter. They do this in October-December. They come out of hibernation in the spring - in March. At all, winter dream these shaggy heavyweights can last from 2 to 6 months. It all depends on the subspecies of the bear and on external factors. It is curious that in the warmest regions of our planet, subject to an abundant harvest of fruits, berries and nuts, bears do not lie in a den at all.

Preparation for sleep

Clubfoot begin to prepare for their wintering from the middle of summer. It's a brown bear! The description of his preparation for sleep is probably known to many people, because there is nothing secret and surprising in this. Six months before the onset of cold weather, they need to find a suitable place for their winter shelter, equip it and, of course, build up their reserves of subcutaneous fat. Most often, bear dens are located under the wells and eversion, under the roots of huge and massive trees - cedars or firs.

Sometimes these predators pull out "dugouts" for themselves directly in the coastal cliffs of the rivers. If during this time the bear has not found a secluded place for his winter shelter, he digs a large hole, after which he strengthens its walls with vertically protruding branches. With them, brown bears fill up the inlet, at the same time disguising themselves and isolating themselves from outside world for several months. Immediately before going to bed, the animal, having gained a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat, carefully confuses its traces of being near the den.

It is worth noting that unpaved dens are considered the most solid and practical bear dwellings. If the predator is lucky, then he will lie down for the whole winter in the ground. Such lairs are located deep underground and keep clubfoot warm. Near the entrance to the dirt den, you can find various trees and shrubs covered with yellowish hoarfrost. Experienced hunters know that the hot breath of a clubfoot gives this color to frost.

hibernation

Adult animals in most cases while away the cold winter days in their lairs one by one. Only a she-bear can hibernate together with last year's cubs. Scientists who observed the life of these predators (see photo of a brown bear and a description of its lifestyle) noticed that in certain regions of the globe where there are no places particularly suitable for wintering, bears use the same shelters several times.

In some areas, dens can generally be located in close proximity to each other, it turns out something like a bearish "apartment" house. If the choice of "winter apartments" is very tight, some especially arrogant bears encroach on other people's homes. For example, an adult male brown bear can, without any pity, expel a weaker relative from a vending den.

Brown bears sleep curled up. They press their hind legs to their belly, and cover their muzzle with their front paws. By the way, it is this fact that gave rise to many tales and sayings that bears suck their paws in winter. This is not entirely true. Clubfoot, of course, can from time to time, being in one or another phase of sleep, lick their front paws, but this has absolutely nothing to do with sucking them.

Watch out, scumbag!

Scientists say that the sleep of bears cannot be called strong. During short-term thaws, these predators can wake up and even leave their winter shelters for a while. At this time, clubfoot walk along winter forest knead their bones. As soon as it gets colder again, shaggy heavyweights return to their shelter again, covering up the traces of their stay outside the den. However, such habits of a brown bear are still flowers!

It also happens that some bears, due to malnutrition in the autumn-winter period, cannot gain desired weight find and equip your home. In this case, they do not lie in the den at all. Not having time to accumulate the reserves of subcutaneous fat necessary for a comfortable wintering, the beast simply staggers through the snowy forest, as if restless. The people called such poor fellows "rods". The connecting rod bear is a very dangerous and extremely aggressive animal! At this time, it is better not to mess with him at all, because the beast is very hungry, incredibly angry and attacks almost everything that moves.

reproduction

Female brown bears bring offspring from 2 to 4 times a year. The mating season usually falls in May, June and July. At this time, the males behave aggressively: they begin to roar loudly, serious fights arise between them, sometimes ending in the death of one of the bears. Pregnancy in females lasts from 190 to 200 days. At one time, they can bring up to 5 cubs with a body weight of up to 600 grams and a length of up to 23 centimeters.

Offspring

The young are born blind, with overgrown ear canals and covered with short sparse hair. After two weeks, the cubs begin to hear, and after a month - to see. Already 90 days after birth, all milk teeth grow in them, and they begin to eat berries, plants and insects. As a rule, male brown bears are not engaged in offspring, raising young animals is the prerogative of females. Bear cubs become sexually mature by the age of 3, but continue to grow up to 10 years.

Brown bear. Red Book

Unfortunately, this one is listed in the Red Book as an animal that is endangered. Currently, in many areas and regions of the globe, hunting for brown bears is limited or completely prohibited. Nevertheless, no one canceled poaching. Bear skin mainly used for carpets and meat for cooking. He is such an important game animal - this brown bear! The Red Book, in which this species of large predators was once included, has not been reprinted at the present time. It is possible that the data on the number of bears as of this year will change dramatically for the worse.

Humans are not the only ones who suffer from hair loss. Whether hair loss is caused by disease or old age, our four-legged friends can also be affected by this condition.

Luckily, the animals and birds on our list seem to be oblivious to the loss of their hair, fur, or feathers. Do you think they look just as cute without their fur or feathers?

Rabbit

This cute bunny was born in 2009 and became an instant internet sensation because he is bald. Luckily, after three months, he grew his first fur coat and turned out to be just as ordinary as his furry siblings.

Bear

Dolores the bear is one of those bears that suffered sudden hair loss at the zoo in Leipzig, Germany. Some experts believe it was caused by a genetic defect, although the animals do not appear to suffer from any other ailments.

Hedgehog

Meet Betty - a cute bald hedgehog from Foxy Lodge Rescue Center, UK. She is a healthy and completely normal animal, except for the fact that she is bald, and the cause of her baldness is unknown.

Parrot

Oscar was a 35-year-old female Moluccan cockatoo who suffered from a condition striking birds- diseases of the beak and feathers (Beak and Feather Disease). She tore out her own feathers, because they annoyed her very much.

Squirrel

Photo: Murph le

Bald squirrels are not uncommon; their hair loss is usually associated with disease caused by mites.

Guinea pig

Photo: Alina Gerika

Skinny is a bald breed guinea pigs. Judging by their pink skin, there is no need to explain why guinea pigs are called "pigs". (Photo: margaretshairlesspigs.webs.com)

Penguin

This hairless baby penguin was born without feathers and was rejected by his parents in an aquarium in China's Liaoning Province. The aquarium staff decided that the baby penguin's lack of feathers and poor health were due to difficulty digesting and absorbing food. nutrients. Thanks to his caretakers, the penguin managed to grow a feathered coat and was successfully reintroduced into his family.

Rat

Photo: CSBeck

Photo: Maxim Loskutov

Hairless rats are obtained by breeding various combinations of genes. On the other hand, hairless lab rats provide researchers with valuable data on weakened immune systems and genetic kidney disease. (Photo: CSBeck).

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees, like other apes, large primates and humans, sometimes suffer from baldness, a disease that causes them to lose hair from all over their bodies. These poor creatures attract many visitors to zoos. (Photo: RedEyedRex).

Dog

Photo: sweet mustache

These are Peruvian hairless dogs. Machu Picchu (the 4-month-old puppy pictured above) was offered as a pet to US President Barack Obama. He promised his daughters a new White House pet, but the dog had to be hypoallergenic because one of them is allergic to most dog breeds. Peruvian hairless dogs are said to be perfect for sensitive people due to their lack of hair. (Photo: Karel Navarro)

Wombat

Meet Karmann, an orphaned baby wombat from Australia. Wombats should remain in their mother's pouch until they are seven months old. However, poor Karmann was rescued from her dying mother's pouch at 3 months old, so she has no hairline. She is currently being cared for at a wildlife sanctuary in Melbourne.

Baboon

A bald female baboon was spotted in countryside Zimbabwe. The animal may have lost its coat due to alopecia. However, this bald baboon has been seen in wild nature so the cause of her hair loss is unknown.

Kangaroo

This tiny creature is Sabrina, a female kangaroo who was abandoned by her mother in the Serengeti-Park in Germany. These animals do not grow hair until they leave the mother's pouch. The bald Sabrina always had to be worn close to a warm body or wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm.

Hamster

Bald people Syrian hamsters fur is absent due to a genetic disease. Hairless hamster babies are only born to parents with the bald gene, so they should not breed. (Photo: The Thick Rabbit)

The polar bear is the world's largest terrestrial carnivore living in the Arctic: in the remote northern regions of Greenland, Norway, Canada, Russia.

And although polar bears traditionally look white, surprisingly, their fur is devoid of white pigment, in fact it is translucent, and its skin is black. So why polar bear white? The answer to this question is given by scientists' research on what wool consists of. polar bear, as well as studying optical phenomena, which affect the color of the animal's fur.

Interesting fact: The polar bear is the largest land predator on Earth. The length of the animal is about 3 meters, weight - up to 1 ton.

What is polar bear fur made of?

The polar bear's coat contains two layers of hairs: an outer protective layer consisting of long (5-15 cm) guard hairs; and a dense insulating undercoat, the hairs of which are shorter and finer than in the protective coat.

The skin of the polar bear is black, and the fur is translucent

Properties of protective hairs:

translucent;
hollow, i.e. empty inside;
rough, narrowed (gradually reach the base);
contain particles that scatter light;
contain salt particles;
are made up of the protein keratin.

The translucent hairs of the bear's fur appear white also because of the density of the animal's fur.

Influence of optical phenomena

The wool of the northern bear is translucent, but due to the properties of the protective hairs that are involved in the creation optical effect, these animal fur appears white. From an optical point of view, the reason why a polar bear appears white is due to the effect of light on the animal's hairline.

Luminescence

Exposure to light causes a reaction known as luminescence

When the sun's rays fall on the fur of a polar bear, some of this light falls into a kind of trap in the hairs. This light energy is reflected inside the hollow part of the hairs, causing a reaction that is the emission of light - luminescence. This happens every time a beam of light comes into contact with an animal's fur.

The luminescence is accelerated by light scattering particles in the hairs, which destroy the light beam. When light hits a light-scattering particle, it breaks up into more rays that move in different directions. Light scattering particles are found both on the inner surface of the hairs and on the outer. Scattering of light results in more white color and its further radiation by the hairline of the animal. Thus, the translucent bear fur reflects sunlight. This is the reason why polar bears are particularly bright in direct sunlight. The brighter the lighting, the more light reflected by the translucent fur of a polar bear.

Salt particles

Particles sea salt

Polar bears spend a lot of time in the water, which is the reason for the Latin name of these representatives of the bear family ursus maritimus, which means "sea bear". Polar bears collect salt particles while swimming or staying near a salty area. sea water. Salt particles along the rough surface of the wool also act as light-scattering particles, which increase the amount of light rays and enhance the luminescence.

ultraviolet light

Ultraviolet light in the spectrum of optical radiation

When the sun shines on a polar bear, ultraviolet light travels along the protective hairs to their base and penetrates the animal's dark skin. When ultraviolet light hits the skin, it causes a whitish color due to fluorescence (the ability to give off absorbed energy as cold light radiation). Fluorescence is a type of luminescence. Thus, ultraviolet radiation also causes White color bear fur.

Interesting fact: The ultraviolet rays, which are carried through the translucent hairs, give the polar bear's fur its insulating properties.

Keratin

Keratin is a common natural protein found in skin, nails, and hair. Like humans, bear hair contains keratin. Protein molecules of keratin give off a whitish color, which further contributes to the appearance of a white coat in a bear.

Why does the polar bear change color?

Now that we know why polar bears are white, it's interesting to know why some of their coats take on yellow, brownish, and even green hues.

IN warm climate polar bears turn green as algae colonize internal environment their wool

With changes in the seasons, habitats, and fur that grows throughout the year, slight differences in the color of the polar bear's fur are noticeable, which helps it adapt to environment. In late autumn and winter, when polar bears are shedding their fur and growing new fur, they appear whiter than in summer, when the fur turns yellowish due to wear and constant exposure to the sun. Bears that live on ice away from water appear whiter than bears that swim a lot. Polar bears on land where there is little or no snow wear light brown fur.

The fur of polar bears that live in warm environments (such as zoos) sometimes takes green tint. This is because algae growing in water bodies colonize the interior of the bear's hollow hairs and reflect the green color. In the cold Arctic north, algae does not grow, so the polar bears that live in the Arctic remain white. This helps them to camouflage themselves when hunting, blending in with the snow-white Arctic atmosphere.

Polar bears in the Arctic remain white

Polar bears are amazing animals that even color adapted to their Arctic home.

Having black skin and translucent fur, the polar bear appears white due to the structure and properties of the hairs, which have free space inside, and the light that penetrates them and creates luminescence. The white color of the translucent bear fur is also given by ultraviolet light, which causes fluorescence, and keratin, the molecules of which give off a whitish color.

Each of these elements supports the white color of the polar bear's coat. So the polar bear's fur reflects a lot of light, which is why it's white.

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What color is a polar bear's coat really?

Polar bear.The characteristic features that distinguish the polar bear from its relatives are relatively long legs, narrow chest, Long neck and a rather small flat head. The skin, nose, lips, paw pads and eyes are black, and the color of the coat varies from white or grayish to yellowish or yellowish red. The shade of the fur coat often depends on the season, age (the cubs have a whiter fur coat than adults) and other factors, for example, in summer the fur may turn yellow due to constant exposure to sunlight.

The polar bear is the largest representative of the order of carnivores. Its length reaches 3 m, weight - 800 kg. Usually males weigh 400-600 kg; body length 200-250 cm, height at the withers up to 160 cm. Females are noticeably smaller (200-300 kg). The smallest bears are found in Svalbard, the largest - in the Bering Sea.

The polar bear is distinguished from other bears by its long neck and flat head. His skin is black. The coat color varies from white to yellowish; in summer, the fur may turn yellow due to constant exposure to sunlight. The polar bear's fur is devoid of pigmentation, and the hairs are hollow. There is a hypothesis that they act as light guides, absorbing ultraviolet rays; in any case, with ultraviolet photography, the polar bear appears dark. Due to the structure of the hairs, the polar bear can sometimes “turn green”. This happens in a hot climate (in zoos), when microscopic algae grow inside the hairs.

And do you know that... "Umka" in Chukchi means - a bear, or more precisely "an adult male polar bear"

On earth, the bear is considered the largest predator; this species originated on the planet about 6 million years ago.

All about bears

The body length of the predator, depending on the species, varies from 1.2 to 3 meters, the weight can reach up to 1 ton, the jaws are very powerful, and the limbs are slightly curved and short.

The speed of the bear can reach up to 50 km / h, with the help of large and sharp claws, it is easy to climb a tree, tear apart prey, and get plant roots from under the ground.

Most bears are good swimmers.

Life expectancy can reach 45 years. They have a good sense of smell.

The coat of the bear is very hard and thick, the color has various shades from brown to black, white or black and white, gray hair may appear with age.

The tail of predators is almost invisible, only in pandas it is clearly expressed.

Varieties and photos of bears

Zoologists distinguish eight main types of bears and many varieties:

Brown bear

His external characteristics are: big head, a rather powerful body, small ears and eyes, the tail is almost invisible, paws are large with large claws.

The color of six, depending on the habitat, can be brown, gray or even reddish. There are brown bears in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Polar bear (white)

Is the most large predator from the bear family: the weight can be more than one ton, the body length is about three meters, the head is flattened, the neck is long. The coat color can be pure white or slightly yellowish.

On the soles of the paws, the wool is very thick, which allows the bear to easily walk on the ice without slipping.

Feels comfortable in the water, swims well. It lives in regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Baribal (black)

Unlike the brown bear, it is smaller in size, the color of the coat is very black. It can be more than 2 meters long, the female is 1.5 m.

Elongated muzzle, long legs, short feet, gray or brown color. It lives in the territories of Alaska, Canada, Mexico.

Malayan bear

Very small, as a rule, the length of the body is not more than 1.3-1.5 m, the height at the withers is about 0.5 m. Stocky build, wide muzzle, small ears. Paws are high, feet are long with large claws.

The bear's coat is very hard and has a black-brown color, a white-red spot on the chest. It can be found in Thailand, China, Indonesia.

white-breasted bear

It does not differ in large sizes, the male reaches a length of up to 1.7 m, and the female is even smaller. The body of the bear is covered with dark brown or black silky hair, this bear also has very large ears and a sharp muzzle.

A distinctive feature of this species is a white or slightly yellow spot on the chest. These representatives of the bear family live on the territory of Afghanistan, Iran, and countries far east and also in the mountains of the Himalayas.

There is still great amount subspecies, which can be listed and described indefinitely prominent representatives predators of this species can be called such bears as: Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), Gubach bear (Melursus ursinus), bamboo bear commonly known as the panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), and many others.

Habitat

The habitat of these graceful representatives of the fauna is very diverse, they are present on all continents. They mostly prefer to settle in the forests and lead a solitary lifestyle.

All types of bears are tied to their territory, where they hunt and stay for the winter, the only exception to this rule is the polar bear.

Menu for the Predator

Bears eat absolutely everything, it can be berries and mushrooms, nuts and various roots, all kinds of meat and fish, ants, larvae and honey of bees can serve as a delicacy for animals, there are among bears and vegans, these are pandas and koalas.

Among all the variety of bears, polar bears are again pure predators, whose diet includes only fish and meat.

How the animal bear is born

Mating of bears occurs during the mating season (for each of the species this is a different period). Also, depending on belonging to a particular species, the pregnancy period of bears varies and lasts from 180 to 250 days.

Childbirth occurs during wintering, when the animal hibernates. The female gives birth to 1-4 cubs, weighing from 450 grams to half a kilogram, they have neither teeth nor hair.

Milk feeding lasts about a year, and the cubs from the previous litter (petuns) help the mother in raising the babies until they reach the age of two.