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The relationship of the bear family with other carnivorans is shown in the following phylogenetic tree , which is based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of six genes in Flynn, Note that although they are called «bears» in some languages, red pandas and raccoons and their close relatives are not bears, but rather musteloids. There are two phylogenetic hypotheses on the relationships among extant and fossil bear species.
One is all species of bears are classified in seven subfamilies as adopted here and related articles: Amphicynodontinae , Hemicyoninae , Ursavinae , Agriotheriinae , Ailuropodinae , Tremarctinae , and Ursinae.
The second alternative phylogenetic hypothesis was implemented by McKenna et al. The phylogeny of extant bear species is shown in a cladogram based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al. The relationships of the other species are not very well resolved, though the polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping. Brown bear. Polar bear. Asian black bear. American black bear.
Sun bear. Sloth bear. Spectacled bear. Giant panda. The bear family includes the most massive extant terrestrial members of the order Carnivora. The latter estimated to have weighed 1, kg 3, lb and stood 3. Bears are generally bulky and robust animals with short tails. They are sexually dimorphic with regard to size, with males typically being larger. The shoulder blades and the pelvis are correspondingly massive. The limbs are much straighter than those of the big cats as there is no need for them to flex in the same way due to the differences in their gait.
The strong forelimbs are used to catch prey, to excavate dens, to dig out burrowing animals, to turn over rocks and logs to locate prey, and to club large creatures.
Unlike most other land carnivorans, bears are plantigrade. They distribute their weight toward the hind feet, which makes them look lumbering when they walk. They are capable of bursts of speed but soon tire, and as a result mostly rely on ambush rather than the chase. Bears can stand on their hind feet and sit up straight with remarkable balance. Their front paws are flexible enough to grasp fruit and leaves. Bears’ non-retractable claws are used for digging, climbing, tearing, and catching prey.
The claws on the front feet are larger than those on the back and may be a hindrance when climbing trees; black bears are the most arboreal of the bears, and have the shortest claws. Pandas are unique in having a bony extension on the wrist of the front feet which acts as a thumb, and is used for gripping bamboo shoots as the animals feed. Most mammals have agouti hair, with each individual hair shaft having bands of color corresponding to two different types of melanin pigment.
Bears however have a single type of melanin and the hairs have a single color throughout their length, apart from the tip which is sometimes a different shade. The coat consists of long guard hairs, which form a protective shaggy covering, and short dense hairs which form an insulating layer trapping air close to the skin. The shaggy coat helps maintain body heat during winter hibernation and is shed in the spring leaving a shorter summer coat.
Polar bears have hollow, translucent guard hairs which gain heat from the sun and conduct it to the dark-colored skin below. They have a thick layer of blubber for extra insulation, and the soles of their feet have a dense pad of fur.
Bears have small rounded ears so as to minimize heat loss, but neither their hearing or sight are particularly acute. Unlike many other carnivorans they have color vision , perhaps to help them distinguish ripe nuts and fruits. They are unique among carnivorans in not having touch-sensitive whiskers on the muzzle; however, they have an excellent sense of smell , better than that of the dog, or possibly any other mammal.
They use smell for signalling to each other either to warn off rivals or detect mates and for finding food. Smell is the principal sense used by bears to locate most of their food, and they have excellent memories which helps them to relocate places where they have found food before. The skulls of bears are massive, providing anchorage for the powerful masseter and temporal jaw muscles. The canine teeth are large but mostly used for display, and the molar teeth flat and crushing.
Unlike most other members of the Carnivora, bears have relatively undeveloped carnassial teeth, and their teeth are adapted for a diet that includes a significant amount of vegetable matter. This may indicate bears are still in the process of evolving from a mainly meat-eating diet to a predominantly herbivorous one. Polar bears appear to have secondarily re-evolved carnassial-like cheek teeth, as their diets have switched back towards carnivory.
Bears have a fairly simple digestive system typical for carnivorans, with a single stomach, short undifferentiated intestines and no cecum. Its ability to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut. The panda, in particular, spends 12—15 hours a day feeding. Extant bears are found in sixty countries primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Europe. An exception is the spectacled bear ; native to South America, it inhabits the Andean region.
The most widespread species is the brown bear , which occurs from Western Europe eastwards through Asia to the western areas of North America. The American black bear is restricted to North America, and the polar bear is restricted to the Arctic Sea. All the remaining species of bear are Asian. Brown and American black bears are generally diurnal , meaning that they are active for the most part during the day, though they may forage substantially by night.
The only times bears are encountered in groups are mothers with young or occasional seasonal bounties of rich food such as salmon runs.
They use olfaction to locate other foods, encounter mates, avoid rivals and recognize their cubs. Most bears are opportunistic omnivores and consume more plant than animal matter, and appears to have evolved from an ancestor which was a low-protein macronutrient omnivore.
However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available. When foraging for plants, bears choose to eat them at the stage when they are at their most nutritious and digestible, typically avoiding older grasses , sedges and leaves. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves. The sloth bear is not as specialized as polar bears and the panda, has lost several front teeth usually seen in bears, and developed a long, suctioning tongue to feed on the ants , termites , and other burrowing insects.
Typically, a bear plunges into the water and seizes a fish with its jaws or front paws. The preferred parts to eat are the brain and eggs. Small burrowing mammals like rodents may be dug out and eaten. The brown bear and both species of black bears sometimes take large ungulates, such as deer and bovids , mostly the young and weak.
They primarily eat the highly digestible blubber. Bears are prolific scavengers and kleptoparasites , stealing food caches from rodents, and carcasses from other predators. A brown bear can eat 41 kg 90 lb of food and gain 2—3 kg 4—7 lb of fat a day prior to entering its den. Bears produce a number of vocal and non-vocal sounds. Tongue-clicking, grunting or chuffing many be made in cordial situations, such as between mothers and cubs or courting couples, while moaning, huffing, snorting or blowing air is made when an individual is stressed.
Barking is produced during times of alarm, excitement or to give away the animal’s position. Warning sounds include jaw-clicking and lip-popping, while teeth-chatters, bellows, growls, roars and pulsing sounds are made in aggressive encounters. Cubs may squeal, bawl, bleat or scream when in distress and make motor-like humming when comfortable or nursing. Bears sometimes communicate with visual displays such as standing upright , which exaggerates the individual’s size.
The chest markings of some species may add to this intimidating display. Staring is an aggressive act and the facial markings of spectacled bears and giant pandas may help draw attention to the eyes during agonistic encounters.
Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing the canine teeth , muzzle twisting and neck stretching. A subordinate may respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down. Bears may mark territory by rubbing against trees and other objects which may serve to spread their scent. This is usually accompanied by clawing and biting the object.
Bark may be spread around to draw attention to the marking post. The mating system of bears has variously been described as a form of polygyny , promiscuity and serial monogamy. A male bear may visit a female continuously over a period of several days or weeks, depending on the species, to test her reproductive state. During this time period, males try to prevent rivals from interacting with their mate.
Courtship may be brief, although in some Asian species, courting pairs may engage in wrestling, hugging, mock fighting and vocalizing.
Ovulation is induced by mating , which can last up to 30 minutes depending on the species. Gestation typically lasts 6—9 months, including delayed implantation , and litter size numbers up to four cubs. Cubs are born blind and helpless with at most a thin layer of hair, relying on their mother for warmth.
The milk of the female bear is rich in fat and antibodies and cubs may suckle for up to a year after they are born. By 2—3 months, cubs can follow their mother outside the den. They usually follow her on foot, but sloth bear cubs may ride on their mother’s back. Infanticide , where an adult male kills the cubs of another, has been recorded in polar bears, brown bears and American black bears but not in other species. In some species, offspring may become independent around the next spring, though some may stay until the female successfully mates again.
Bears reach sexual maturity shortly after they disperse; at around 3—6 years depending on the species. Male Alaskan brown bears and polar bears may continue to grow until they are 11 years old. The brown bear can live an average of 25 years. Bears of northern regions, including the American black bear and the grizzly bear , hibernate in the winter. Bears do not have many predators. The most important are humans, and as they started cultivating crops, they increasingly came in conflict with the bears that raided them.
Since the invention of firearms, people have been able to kill bears with greater ease. Bears are parasitized by eighty species of parasites, including single-celled protozoans and gastro-intestinal worms, and nematodes and flukes in their heart, liver, lungs and bloodstream.
Externally they have ticks, fleas and lice. A study of American black bears found seventeen species of endoparasite including the protozoan Sarcocystis , the parasitic worm Diphyllobothrium mansonoides , and the nematodes Dirofilaria immitis , Capillaria aerophila , Physaloptera sp.
Of these, D. The protozoan Toxoplasma gondii has been found in polar bears, and the nematode Trichinella nativa can cause a serious infection and decline in older polar bears. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats [] and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian bile bear market, though hunting is now banned, largely replaced by farming.
In general these two species inhabit remote areas with little interaction with humans, and the main non-natural causes of mortality are hunting, trapping, road-kill and depredation. Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears from habitat destruction.
Public perception of bears is often positive, as people identify with bears due to their omnivorous diets, their ability to stand on two legs, and their symbolic importance. Several bear species are dangerous to humans , especially in areas where they have become used to people; elsewhere, they generally avoid humans.
Injuries caused by bears are rare, but are widely reported. Bears in captivity have for centuries been used for entertainment. They have been trained to dance , [] and were kept for baiting in Europe at least since the 16th century. There were five bear-baiting gardens in Southwark , London, at that time; archaeological remains of three of these have survived. Bears have been hunted for sport, food, and folk medicine.
Their meat is dark and stringy, like a tough cut of beef. In Cantonese cuisine , bear paws are considered a delicacy. Bear meat should be cooked thoroughly, as it can be infected with the parasite Trichinella spiralis. The peoples of eastern Asia use bears’ body parts and secretions notably their gallbladders and bile as part of traditional Chinese medicine. More than 12, bears are thought to be kept on farms in China, Vietnam, and South Korea for the production of bile. Trade in bear products is prohibited under CITES , but bear bile has been detected in shampoos, wine and herbal medicines sold in Canada, the United States and Australia.
A nomadic ursar , a Romani bear-busker. Drawing by Theodor Aman , Bears have been popular subjects in art, literature, folklore and mythology. The image of the mother bear was prevalent throughout societies in North America and Eurasia, based on the female’s devotion and protection of her cubs. Bears have thus been thought to predict the future and shaman were believed to have been capable of transforming into bears.
There is evidence of prehistoric bear worship , though this is disputed by archaeologists. Evidence of her worship has notably been found at Bern , itself named for the bear. Her name is derived from the Celtic word for «bear», artos. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor , the great and little bears, are named for their supposed resemblance to bears, from the time of Ptolemy.
These are found on both sides of the Bering land bridge , which was lost to the sea some 11, years ago. Bears, like other animals, may symbolize nations. The Russian Bear has been a common national personification for Russia from the 16th century onward.
The constellation of Ursa Major as depicted in Urania’s Mirror , c. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Family of carnivoran mammals. For the film, see Bear Cub. This article is about the carnivoran mammals. For other uses, see Bear disambiguation. Further information: List of ursids. Polar bear left and sun bear, the largest and smallest species respectively, on average. Further information: List of carnivorans by population.
Main article: Hibernation. Main article: Bear conservation. Giant pandas at the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries. A barrel trap in Grand Teton National Park , Wyoming , used to relocate bears away from where they might attack humans. Main article: Bear attacks. Main article: Cultural depictions of bears. See also: Bear in heraldry. Animals portal.
New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN OCLC A Linguistic History of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on Retrieved 22 January University of Pittsburgh Slovak Studies Program. Retrieved 21 March Retrieved 4 April A Greek-English Lexicon. Perseus Digital Library. Archived from the original on 30 November Retrieved 12 January Retrieved 11 March The Clarendon Press, p.
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. S2CID The Origin and Evolution of Mammals. Oxford University Press. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Archived PDF from the original on Archived from the original PDF on 22 September Retrieved 24 July Bibcode : Natur. During winter, they hide in their dens in order to cope with the extremely low temperatures. As a preparation for denning, grizzly bears consume large chunks of food during summer and fall.
During the denning period, the bears neither urinate nor defecate. They utilize the food consumed during summer and the fall since there is no eating during the denning period.
The bears dig up their dens on elevated slopes. After maturing, male grizzlies move far off to establish their own territories. On the other hand, female grizzlies establish their territories not far away from their mother. Female grizzlies give birth during the denning period. Of all mammals, grizzly bears have the slowest reproductive rate.
The females attain sexual maturity at age five. The mating season among grizzly bears falls between May and July. The female bodies will however permit egg implantation in the months of October or November.
The period in between breeding and egg implantation may allow for miscarriage as well. Rice’s Whale. Rufa Red Knot. Snakes and Lizards. Sonoran Pronghorn. Grizzly Bear. Pacific Walrus. Prairie Dog. Sea Turtles.
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Where are bears usually found – where are bears usually found. Where Do Bears Live in North America?
Black bears are only found in North America. The species ranges from Canada in the north to Mexico in the south, and lives predominantly in. Today, eight bear species remain in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. All of the bears found at the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary are American black. › References.
Where are bears usually found – where are bears usually found.6 Types Of Bears In Alaska
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms , or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere.
Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous , and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo , the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell.
Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period of hibernation , up to days. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur; they have been used for bear-baiting and other forms of entertainment, such as being made to dance.
With their powerful physical presence, they play a prominent role in the arts , mythology , and other cultural aspects of various human societies. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian bile bear market. 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.
The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing. This form is conventionally said to be related to a Proto-Indo-European word for «brown», so that «bear» would mean «the brown one».
The Germanic name Bernard including Bernhardt and similar forms means «bear-brave», «bear-hardy», or «bold bear». The family Ursidae is one of nine families in the suborder Caniformia , or «doglike» carnivorans, within the order Carnivora. Bears’ closest living relatives are the pinnipeds , canids , and musteloids. Nuclear chromosome analysis show that the karyotype of the six ursine bears is nearly identical, each having 74 chromosomes see Ursid hybrid , whereas the giant panda has 42 chromosomes and the spectacled bear These smaller numbers can be explained by the fusing of some chromosomes, and the banding patterns on these match those of the ursine species, but differ from those of procyonids, which supports the inclusion of these two species in Ursidae rather than in Procyonidae , where they had been placed by some earlier authorities.
The earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, including Parictis late Eocene to early middle Miocene , 38—18 Mya and the slightly younger Allocyon early Oligocene , 34—30 Mya , both from North America.
These animals looked very different from today’s bears, being small and raccoon -like in overall appearance, with diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger. Parictis does not appear in Eurasia and Africa until the Miocene. The raccoon-sized, dog-like Cephalogale is the oldest-known member of the subfamily Hemicyoninae , which first appeared during the middle Oligocene in Eurasia about 30 Mya. A Cephalogale -like species gave rise to the genus Ursavus during the early Oligocene 30—28 Mya ; this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears.
Species of Ursavus subsequently entered North America, together with Amphicynodon and Cephalogale , during the early Miocene 21—18 Mya. Members of the living lineages of bears diverged from Ursavus between 15 and 20 Mya, [24] [25] likely via the species Ursavus elmensis.
Based on genetic and morphological data, the Ailuropodinae pandas were the first to diverge from other living bears about 19 Mya, although no fossils of this group have been found before about 11 Mya. The New World short-faced bears Tremarctinae differentiated from Ursinae following a dispersal event into North America during the mid-Miocene about 13 Mya. This genus is probably the direct ancestor to the North American short-faced bears genus Arctodus , the South American short-faced bears Arctotherium , and the spectacled bears, Tremarctos , represented by both an extinct North American species T.
The subfamily Ursinae experienced a dramatic proliferation of taxa about 5. The sloth bear is a modern survivor of one of the earliest lineages to diverge during this radiation event 5. By 3—4 Mya, the species Ursus minimus appears in the fossil record of Europe; apart from its size, it was nearly identical to today’s Asian black bear.
It is likely ancestral to all bears within Ursinae, perhaps aside from the sloth bear. Two lineages evolved from U. Modern brown bears evolved from U. The relationship of the bear family with other carnivorans is shown in the following phylogenetic tree , which is based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of six genes in Flynn, Note that although they are called «bears» in some languages, red pandas and raccoons and their close relatives are not bears, but rather musteloids.
There are two phylogenetic hypotheses on the relationships among extant and fossil bear species. One is all species of bears are classified in seven subfamilies as adopted here and related articles: Amphicynodontinae , Hemicyoninae , Ursavinae , Agriotheriinae , Ailuropodinae , Tremarctinae , and Ursinae.
The second alternative phylogenetic hypothesis was implemented by McKenna et al. The phylogeny of extant bear species is shown in a cladogram based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al. The relationships of the other species are not very well resolved, though the polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping.
Brown bear. Polar bear. Asian black bear. American black bear. Sun bear. Sloth bear. Spectacled bear. Giant panda. The bear family includes the most massive extant terrestrial members of the order Carnivora. The latter estimated to have weighed 1, kg 3, lb and stood 3. Bears are generally bulky and robust animals with short tails.
They are sexually dimorphic with regard to size, with males typically being larger. The shoulder blades and the pelvis are correspondingly massive. The limbs are much straighter than those of the big cats as there is no need for them to flex in the same way due to the differences in their gait. The strong forelimbs are used to catch prey, to excavate dens, to dig out burrowing animals, to turn over rocks and logs to locate prey, and to club large creatures.
Unlike most other land carnivorans, bears are plantigrade. They distribute their weight toward the hind feet, which makes them look lumbering when they walk.
They are capable of bursts of speed but soon tire, and as a result mostly rely on ambush rather than the chase. Bears can stand on their hind feet and sit up straight with remarkable balance. Their front paws are flexible enough to grasp fruit and leaves. Bears’ non-retractable claws are used for digging, climbing, tearing, and catching prey.
The claws on the front feet are larger than those on the back and may be a hindrance when climbing trees; black bears are the most arboreal of the bears, and have the shortest claws. Pandas are unique in having a bony extension on the wrist of the front feet which acts as a thumb, and is used for gripping bamboo shoots as the animals feed. Most mammals have agouti hair, with each individual hair shaft having bands of color corresponding to two different types of melanin pigment. Bears however have a single type of melanin and the hairs have a single color throughout their length, apart from the tip which is sometimes a different shade.
The coat consists of long guard hairs, which form a protective shaggy covering, and short dense hairs which form an insulating layer trapping air close to the skin. The shaggy coat helps maintain body heat during winter hibernation and is shed in the spring leaving a shorter summer coat. Polar bears have hollow, translucent guard hairs which gain heat from the sun and conduct it to the dark-colored skin below. They have a thick layer of blubber for extra insulation, and the soles of their feet have a dense pad of fur.
Bears have small rounded ears so as to minimize heat loss, but neither their hearing or sight are particularly acute. Unlike many other carnivorans they have color vision , perhaps to help them distinguish ripe nuts and fruits. They are unique among carnivorans in not having touch-sensitive whiskers on the muzzle; however, they have an excellent sense of smell , better than that of the dog, or possibly any other mammal. They use smell for signalling to each other either to warn off rivals or detect mates and for finding food.
Smell is the principal sense used by bears to locate most of their food, and they have excellent memories which helps them to relocate places where they have found food before. The skulls of bears are massive, providing anchorage for the powerful masseter and temporal jaw muscles. The canine teeth are large but mostly used for display, and the molar teeth flat and crushing.
Unlike most other members of the Carnivora, bears have relatively undeveloped carnassial teeth, and their teeth are adapted for a diet that includes a significant amount of vegetable matter. This may indicate bears are still in the process of evolving from a mainly meat-eating diet to a predominantly herbivorous one. Polar bears appear to have secondarily re-evolved carnassial-like cheek teeth, as their diets have switched back towards carnivory.
Bears have a fairly simple digestive system typical for carnivorans, with a single stomach, short undifferentiated intestines and no cecum. Its ability to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut. The panda, in particular, spends 12—15 hours a day feeding. Extant bears are found in sixty countries primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Europe. An exception is the spectacled bear ; native to South America, it inhabits the Andean region.
The most widespread species is the brown bear , which occurs from Western Europe eastwards through Asia to the western areas of North America. The American black bear is restricted to North America, and the polar bear is restricted to the Arctic Sea. All the remaining species of bear are Asian. Brown and American black bears are generally diurnal , meaning that they are active for the most part during the day, though they may forage substantially by night.
The only times bears are encountered in groups are mothers with young or occasional seasonal bounties of rich food such as salmon runs.
They use olfaction to locate other foods, encounter mates, avoid rivals and recognize their cubs. Most bears are opportunistic omnivores and consume more plant than animal matter, and appears to have evolved from an ancestor which was a low-protein macronutrient omnivore.
However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available. When foraging for plants, bears choose to eat them at the stage when they are at their most nutritious and digestible, typically avoiding older grasses , sedges and leaves. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves. The sloth bear is not as specialized as polar bears and the panda, has lost several front teeth usually seen in bears, and developed a long, suctioning tongue to feed on the ants , termites , and other burrowing insects.
Typically, a bear plunges into the water and seizes a fish with its jaws or front paws.
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