Bear

Bears are are generally large Mammals which are classified as Caniforms which means Dog like Carnivores. They can be traced back to their pedigree whhich were the Miacids, small, snouted, weasel-like animals that lived 50 million years ago. Some 38 million years ago Bears began to diverge down their own evolutionary path. The first clearly Bear-like animal was Amphicynodon, while the first True Bear was Ursavus. The Modern Genus Ursus appeared between five and ten million years ago. Modern Bears are characterised with large body and stocky legs, a long snout, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five non-retractile claws and a short tail. Bears are typically solitary and generally diurnal, though they can be active during the night (nocturnal) or twilight (crepuscular), depending on the food availability. They are known for hibernation or winter sleep during the winter season for which caves and burrows are used as their dens. Scientists are still studying this behaviour as to how the Bear is able to survive without eating anything and without defecating and urinating.. Bears are generally recognised as cuddly, shaggy, cute creatures but they are just like any other animal and can be dangerous if approached by close quarters. There are only Eight Living Species of Bear. These are Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Sloth Bear, Spectacled Bear, Sun Bear and the Giant Panda. The IUCN lists Six Bear Species as Vulnerable or Endangered and even Least Concern Species such as the Brown Bear are at risk of extirpation in certain countries.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom - Animalia.
Phylum - Chordata.
Class - Mammalia.
Order - Carnivora.
Suborder - Caniformia.
Family - Ursidae.

Physical Features

Weight - The Weight of Bears vary from Species to Species. Polar Bears and Brown Bears weigh over 750 kilograms (1,700 lb). While Sun Bears of Asia, weigh an average of 65 kilograms (140 lb) for the males and 45 kilograms (99 lb) for the females.

Height - The Height of Bears also Varies from Species to Species. The Brown Bear is a head-and-body length of 1.7 to 2.8 meters (5.6 to 9.2 ft) and a shoulder height of 90 to 50 centimetres (35–60 in). Sun Bear grow up to be approximately 4-5 feet in height.

Bears are generally heavy and robust animals with relatively short legs. They have small eyes and their ears are rounded. They tend to be long-furred, with most Species coloured, mainly brown or black. Their usually elongated lip accommodates 40 or 42 teeth depending upon Species. Bears have long non-retractable claws which are used for digging, climbing, tearing and catching prey. Bears are Plantigrade which simply means that they walk like Humans which is uncommon in land carnivores. Mostly Male Bears are generally heavier than the females. Bears can stand on their hind feet and sit up straight with remarkable balance. Their sense of smell is particularly acute, at least 100 times more sensitive as that of man. Despite their weight, Bears can, if necessary, maintain speeds of up to 50 km/hr. They tend to be good climbers and are also good swimmers. They are relatively intelligent, resourceful animals with large, well-developed brains

Geographical Range and Habitat

They are found in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found in the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Behaviour

Bears are Solitary animals and they communicate with each other by establishing a hierarchy or pecking order in situations where they encounter each other. It isn't always size that makes one Bear dominant over another, it's the attitude of the Dominant Bear, or 'Alpha', who is always in charge. Bears communicate their dominance by intimidating their opponent. Bears do not fight with each other unless it's absolutely necessary. They tend to avoid fight so as to avoid injury, instead they use posturing as means of intimidating each other in a conflict situation.

Many people consider Bears as nocturnal where as they are generally Diurnal i.e. active for the most part during the day. The basis of the belief comes form habits of Bears that live near humans who raid trash cans or crops at night in order to avoid humans. The Sloth Bear of Asia is the most Nocturnal of the Bears, but this varies by individual and females with cubs who are often diurnal in order to avoid competition with males and nocturnal predators. Bears liaison with each other during breeding and may get together during occasional seasonal bounties of rich food such as salmon runs.

Bear also like to play usually using an inanimate object or parts of the animal's own body. Bears may be seen chasing around for no clear reason especially Giant Pandas and American Black Bears.

Bears produce a variety of Vocalizations such as:

Barking - It is produced during times of alarm, excitement or to give away the animal's position.
Growling - It is produced as strong warnings to potential threats or in anger.
Huffing - It is made during courtship or between mother and cubs to warn of danger.
Moaning - It is produced mostly as mild warnings to potential threats or in fear.
Roaring - It is produce as strong warnings to potential threats or in anger and also to proclaim territory and for intimidation.

Diet

Most Bears are opportunistic Omnivores. They can survive even on grasses, roots, berries and nuts and will ignore angry bees to get at a honeycomb, one of their favourite food. Some of the Bear's will not shy from eating carrion, but they also hunt small animals such as mice, take birds' eggs and also eat insects. Of the Eight Species of Bear only the Polar Bear is almost entirely Carnivorous and the Giant Panda feeds almost entirely on Bamboo, while the remaining Six Species are Omnivorous.

The Prey List of Bears consists of :

• Elk.
• Moose.
• Caribou.
• Bighorn Sheep.
• Mountain Goats.
• Bison.
• Musk ox.
• Ringed Seals.
• Bearded Seals.
• Walrus.
• Beluga Whales.
• Salmon.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity varies amongst Bears both between and within Species. Sexual maturity is dependent on body condition, which is in turn dependent upon the food supply available to the growing individual. In the females of smaller Species may have young in as little as two years, whereas the larger species may not rear young until they are four or even nine years old. First breeding may be even later in males, where competition for mates may leave younger males without access to females. The Bear's courtship period is very brief. Bears in northern climates reproduce seasonally, usually after a period of inactivity similar to hibernation, although tropical species breed all year round. Cubs are born toothless, blind, and bald. The cubs of Brown Bears, usually born in litters of 1–3, will typically stay with the mother for two full seasons.

Predators

The Tiger is the only known predator known to regularly prey on adult Bears, including Sloth Bears, Asiatic Black Bears, Giant Pandas, Sun Bears and small Brown Bears.

Some of the Extinct Species

These include:

• Mexican Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos nelsoni) - It is a presumed Extinct Subspecies of the Brown Bear. It was one of the heaviest and largest mammals in Mexico. It reached a length up to 183 centimetres and an average weight of 318 kilograms. Due to its silver fur it was often named "El oso plateado" (the Silver Bear). The Mexican Grizzly Bear was smaller than the Grizzly Bears in the United States and Canada. The general colour was pale buffy yellowish varying to greyish-white, grizzled from the darker colour of the under-fur. It is named after American naturalist Edward William Nelson who secured a series for the U. S. Biological Survey. The Mexican grizzly bear inhabited the northern territories of Mexico in particular the temperate grasslands and mountainous pine forests. Its previous range reached from Arizona to New Mexico and Mexico. By 1960 only 30 of them were left. Despite its protected status the hunting continued. By 1964 the Mexican Grizzly Bear was regarded as Extinct.

• Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus) - It was a species of Bear which lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago. The Cave Bear's range stretched across Europe; from Spain to Eurasia, from Italy  and Greece  to Belgium, the Netherlands and possibly Great Britain, across a portion of Germany through Poland, then south into Hungary, Romania and parts of Russia, Caucasus and northern Iran. The Cave Bear had a very broad, domed skull with a steep forehead. Its stout body had long thighs, massive shins and in-turning feet, making it similar in skeletal structure to the Brown Bear. Cave Bears were comparable in size to the largest modern day bears. The average weight for males was 400-500 kilograms  (880-1102 pounds), while females weighed 225–250 kg (496-551 lbs). This Species spent more time in caves which is the reason they are named so. Death during hibernation was a common end for Cave Bears, mainly befalling specimens that failed ecologically during the summer season through inexperience, sickness or old age. Recent reassessment of fossils indicate the Cave Bear probably died out 27,800 years ago. Though the reason is still disputed, the timing supports habitat loss due to climate change as responsible. Compared with other megafaunal species that also became extinct during the last Glacial Maximum, the Cave Bear had a more specialized diet of high quality plants and a relatively restricted geographical range which is suggested as an explanation as to why it died out so much earlier than the rest.

• Florida Short-Faced Bear (Tremarctos flordianus) - Also known as Florida Spectacled Bear, it is an Extinct Species of the family Ursidae, subfamily Tremarctinae  endemic to North America from the Pliocene  to Pleistocene epoch (4.9 mya—11,000 years ago), existing for approximately 4.889 million years. It was widely distributed south of the continental ice sheet, along the Gulf Coast across through Florida and north to Tennessee, and across the southern United States to California. They became extinct at the end of the last ice age,10,000 years ago due to some combination of climate change and hunting by newly arrived Paleo-Indians.

• Bulldog Bear (Arctodus simus)- Also known as Short-Faced Bear, it is an Extinct genus of Bear endemic to North America during the Pleistocene  ~3.0 Ma.—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 2.989 million years. Its bones were long and thin, and it was believed to be able to run faster for short distances than today's Bears. It was a large creature and it probably preyed upon the North American megafauna. However, relying on the North American megafauna as its main food source, it disappeared at the same time they did, possibly partly due to competition with humans for the same limited game.

In Folklore and Culture

'The Brown Bear of Norway' is a Scottish  fairy tale telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a Bear, and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love and after many trials and difficulties.

Korean people in their mythology identify the Bear as their ancestor and symbolic animal. According to the Korean legend, a God imposed a difficult test on a She-Bear and when she passed it the god turned her into a woman and married her.

Legends of Saints taming bears are common in the Alpine zone. In the arms of the bishopric of Freising the Bear is the dangerous totem animal tamed by Saint Corbinian and made to carry his civilised baggage over the mountains. A Bear also features prominently in the legend of Saint Romedius, who is also said to have tamed one of these animals and had the same Bear carry him from his hermitage in the mountains to the city of Trento. Similar stories are told of Saint Gall and Saint Columbanus.

Bears are a popular feature of many children's stories including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Berenstein Bears, and Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh has it's own Cartoon Movies and Series which are telecast on various Television Channels.

The constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor represent Bears.

In the United States, the Black Bear is the State Animal of Louisiana, New Mexico, and West Virginia.

The Grizzly Bear is the state animal of both Montana and California.