Facts about bears

September 18, 2012 | In: Animal facts for kids


Bears are omnivorous mammals (brown bear), herbivores (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) or carnivores (polar bear) family Ursidae. This animals have a large body, bulky, covered with fur, omnivores or carnivores, they spread across the northern hemisphere and in parts of the south. The most popular representatives of the family are brown bear, black bear and grizzly bear.

 

Bears are fearsome animals, we prefer to see them in documentaries and not to meet them face to face. Precisely for this reason, their life in the wild is the object of many speculations and legends, but few know the truth about these amazing animals that continue to survive pollution, illegal hunting and abusive deforestation.

The oldest bear ever discovered is called Ursavus Elmensis, also known as the “bear of dawn”. Physical appearance was similar to that of a tiger, with long fur to the head and chest and back striped appearance. He was found in a subtropical forest in Europe and it leaved 10 million years ago and, over time, it turned into the bear we know today, suffering slight appearance changes.

Six of the eight species of bears are classified as vulnerable or endangered nowadays. Giant pandas are most threatened with extinction, at the moment, there are only 1600 worldwide, follow by The American Black Bear, Asian Bear and Polar Bear.

Brown Bear is the most resistant species of bears, mainly because it is the bear with the largest size and weight. It weighs up to 850 kg (males) and 500 kg (female), the weight varies depending on habitat conditions and secured food sources.

Koala is not a bear, it is a marsupial. Although we often hear the words “koala bear” it is not a bear, but only resembles one. In reality, the koala is an arboreal marsupial living in Australia.

Scientists have often disagreed on bear hibernation. Bears have the habit of withdrawing into a deep sleep during the winter, which is usually called hibernation. However, some scientists say that they can not classify this definition, because usually while the bears hibernate, the body temperature remains constant and does not decrease considerably, how it should happen to a hibernating animal.

Polar bears are the best swimmers of all species of bears. They live near the Arctic Ocean and are forced to swim for miles every day in ice cold water for tracking prey.

U.S. researchers at the University of Oakland, found that American Black Bears, also called Baribals, are among the most intelligent mammals and have shown this in a study that showed that they know to count!

Researchers say that although they are solitary animals, brown bears have intelligence similar to that of chimpanzees and that are capable of much more than we have considered before.

Of the senses, smell and hearing are the most developed. It turned out that when the wind is blowing from the front, bears can smell a man at about 400 meters or that they hear a branch breaking, when it is quiet in the forest, at over 100 meters. Their sight is not so good, we can say that their eyes are weak.


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