An animal that almost everyone recognizes at first sight, familiar from childhood through fairy tales and cartoons, is the bear.
Description of the bear
He has a short and thick body, the same neck, and an elongated muzzle. The predator has small eyes and ears. Despite this, he has excellent eyesight and excellent hearing.
The paws have 5 toes with long, very powerful claws. It is not for nothing that they call it clubfoot, because the animal walks by stepping completely on its entire foot. This makes his gait seem clumsy. In fact, without being particularly graceful, bears can move quite quickly. They are very hardy, so they are able to cover long distances without rest.
All bears have a tail. It is usually very short and inconspicuous. Only the giant panda has a large tail.
Animals swim well. The polar bear has webbed feet. Thanks to this, he can stay in the water for a long time, covering distances of 30 km or more without rest.
Where does a bear live in the wild?
The animal's habitat is wide. It includes the Arctic and Antarctic, Canada and Alaska. In nature, bears can be found in Europe, Asia, and the American continent. Some representatives of predators live in Australia, on the islands of Japan, Sumatra, and Java. They live on plains and mountains, on the shores of oceans, in hot and very cold areas.
Some dig dens, others live in tree hollows, and others live in caves. All bears, except the white one, lead a sedentary lifestyle. They love solitude, although sometimes they can live in families (mother bear and cubs).
How long does a bear live?
Life expectancy is from 18 to 30 years, in captivity - up to 50.
How much does a bear weigh?
The weight of the smallest representative of the species, the koala, is from 4 kg to 18 kg, and the largest, the polar bear, is from 250 kg to 450 kg.
What does a bear eat?
The animal's diet consists of berries, nuts, and roots. They love fish, insects, frogs and shellfish. The brown bear is not averse to eating the meat of roe deer, deer, and elk. Loves honey. The Malayan bear eats bananas, and the panda eats sugar cane shoots. The smallest marsupial bear, the koala, is a vegetarian: it feasts on eucalyptus, and makes up for the lack of protein by eating soil. This is the only representative whose menu contains neither insects nor the meat of other animals.
Bear breeding
The bear is a monogamous animal. But despite this, bear families are short-lived. Predators gather together when mating season arrives. After the female is fertilized, the family breaks up. Pregnancy lasts differently for each species. The gestation period for cubs is up to 200 days. Almost all female bears give birth to 1 to 3 cubs. Cubs are born blind, toothless, and without hair. For 2 years they feed on mother's milk. Sexual maturity is reached at 3-4 years. Only after this do they leave their mother.
Types of bears
Zoologists distinguish several types of bears. Each species has subspecies.
Baribal, the name of the American bear, is the friendliest of the family. Although, in case of danger, it can hit with its paw, but immediately run away to a safe distance. Just as clubfooted as his relatives.
He lives in 30 US states, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It can be found in Mexico and Alaska.
The fur of the baribal is black, sometimes gray or blue-black. The height of an adult male is about 2 m, weight reaches 350 kg. The black bear is the most common species in America.
The American bear eats berries, bees and termites, and fishes. Enjoy the meat of pigs or sheep.
A bear in captivity, under human protection, can live up to 30 years. In natural conditions it lives for 12 years.
The black bear is afraid of people, although it can go out onto the highway or climb into a farm in search of food.
The black bear has several names: white-breasted, Himalayan, Ussuri. The most romantic of them: the moon bear. It was given its name because of the crescent-shaped spot on its chest: white, sometimes with a yellowish tint.
The Himalayan bear lives in the forests and hills of Iran and Afghanistan. A large population of the predator lives in the Himalayas, Korea, and Japan. On the territory of Russia - in the Khabarovsk Territory (the image can be seen on the coat of arms), Yakutia. The Himalayan bear is found in Vietnam.
Males are quite large in size: length reaches 1m 80 cm, at the withers - up to 80 cm. Weight - up to 80 kg. Females are much smaller and lighter.
The Himalayan bear is often hunted. At the same time, not only animal fur is valuable. In some countries (Laos, Vietnam, China) it is bred on special farms to collect bile, which is widely used in Chinese medicine. Here the paws of the predator are eaten.
The Himalayan bear spends most of its time in trees. Here he looks for food and escapes from midges. The diet consists of nuts, berries, plant shoots, and acorns. Since the predator's body needs protein, the bear eats ants, other insects, and also frogs.
The Himalayan bear mates from June to August. Females give birth to 1 or 2 babies, weighing 400 g.
Sleeps in winter. The main enemies are the Amur tiger and brown bear.
Life expectancy is no more than 25 years.
One of the largest family of bears, its average size reaches 3 m. It weighs from 350 kg to 450 kg. The heaviest bear lived in the Berlin Zoo, weighing 760 kg. Lives in the Caucasus, in the northern part of Russia. Found in Scandinavia, the Carpathians. A small number live in Palestine, Iran, and northern Iraq. It is difficult to name the exact place where the brown bear lives. The fact is that if there is enough food somewhere, then it will not go further than 500 hectares. If there is not enough food, then the brown bear begins to wander in search of food. The animal is a forest dweller. He prefers to make a den where there are a lot of swamps, in coniferous or mixed forests. It is quite difficult to meet a brown bear, since it is awake at night.
The appearance of an animal is deceiving. He, like the rest of the family, looks awkward: a huge head, short legs, large withers. But it can easily catch up with its prey and swims well (it can swim up to 6 km without stopping). At a young age, it climbs trees very well.
The Predator is endowed with enormous strength. It will not be difficult for him to tear out the ribs or break the skull of any large animal. With a blow from his paw he can break a person's spine. An animal is dangerous after hibernation, when hunger drives it after prey. During this period, he is not averse to eating human flesh.
Sleeps in winter. The longest duration of sleep is about 200 days. The brown bear sleeps for so long on the Kola Peninsula, where winter lasts from November to April and longer. The animal prepares its den in advance: it finds a dry place, covers it with dry leaves, hay, and branches. Very rarely it can build a rookery directly on the ground.
Pregnant bears arrange their dens in such a way that there is plenty of space and ventilation. In winter, the den is covered with snow, which becomes a kind of blanket for the mother and cubs.
The animal sleeps very lightly. This dream is like numbness. He wakes up when he runs out of fat reserves.
Animals that for some reason have not gained fat do not hibernate at all, but wander through the forest, looking for food. They are called "connecting rods". These predators are the most dangerous.
Life expectancy is about 30 years, in a seine - up to 50 years.
The local population nicknamed the animal the bear-dog. The maximum length of the body barely reaches 1 m 50 cm, weighing from 25 kg to 65 kg. The yellow spot on the chest looks like the rising sun, so another name is sun bear. It is assumed that the black bear uses the light spot to intimidate enemies. During the fight, he takes a threatening pose, standing upright on his hind legs. A distinctive feature is loose skin around the neck. This allows the animal to turn its head and deliver unexpected blows with its fangs. Leopards and tigers are dangerous for biruang.
The black bear lives on the island of Java, Sumatra, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo. Habitat: tropical, subtropical forest, sometimes found in the mountains.
The sun bear is the most aggressive of the family. With sharp fangs, he chews wood to get insects out of it. In addition, it feeds on berries and earthworms. It is not carnivorous, but can eat lizards and birds. He enjoys eating bananas and coconut palm sprouts. Zoo workers know what the animal eats, but they give them peanut butter and crickets to eat.
It is not known exactly how long a black bear lives in natural conditions. In captivity, its age reaches 24 years.
The sun bear is monogamous. There is no specific period for mating; it can occur at any time of the year. Mating games last from 2 to 7 days. The female's gestation period can last from 95 to 210 days. Brings from 1 to 3 cubs, which are born blind; the weight of newborn puppies is about 300g. They grow very quickly. 2-3 months after birth, they run, play, and eat with their mother, although they suck milk until 4 months.
The animal is listed in the Red Book as an endangered species.
Grizzly
The gray bear lives in Alaska and northern Canada. A small number survives in Montana, near Washington and Yellowstone. The bear's height is about 4 m, its claws are a dangerous weapon 15 cm long. There is no exact answer to how much a grizzly bear weighs. The maximum weight is about 210 kg, the smallest female weighs just over 130 kg. Like the brown bear, it can live up to 30 years. Grizzlies are considered a bloodthirsty predator, although the food that the animal eats is no different from the diet of its relatives. The gray bear prefers algae, shoots of young plants, and berries. He loves fish, honey, and does not neglect frogs and lizards. He can smell the smell of carrion 30 km away and eats it with pleasure. Hunts mainly for weak or young animals. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h, swimming across a river with ease, while demonstrating his enormous strength. A grizzly bear fishes during the salmon spawning season. It lowers its head into the water and catches prey with its teeth or paw. Particularly dexterous animals are able to catch fish when they jump out of the water.
A grizzly bear spends the winter in a den. During the thaw, he wakes up and wanders through the forest, looking for food. Goes to bed again when the frost gets worse.
Being solitary animals, they communicate only during the mating season. From the moment of mating to the birth of the cubs, about 250 days pass. Their mother takes care of them for 2 years.
The grizzly bear does not pose a threat to humans. He can show aggression towards him only when he senses danger.
The king of the Far North and the Arctic Ocean is the polar bear. The largest representative of the family. Height 1.5 m, length 3 m. The male is much heavier than the female. It weighs 450 kg, the maximum weight of a female is 250 kg. Habitat: Far North. It is found on the island of Spitsbergen, on Novaya Zemlya, in the Hudson Bay area. Sometimes, drifting on an ice floe, he ends up in Iceland.
The bear's body is elongated, thick, with a large layer of subcutaneous fat. The predator's feet are longer than those of its relatives, since it needs to walk on snow. The feet are webbed for swimming. The coat is white or with a yellowish tint, regardless of the time of year.
Although clumsy in appearance, the northern bear is an excellent swimmer. The speed it reaches is 45 km/h. Even in Arctic waters it can swim 80 km without a break. The undercoat serves as an air cushion for it. Has no equal in catching fish.
The polar bear has sharp eyesight and is well oriented in the vast expanses of snow. He easily determines the road he needs, and at the same time chooses the shortest distance to get to the goal he needs.
The polar bear is the largest animal in its range, so it is not afraid of anyone. A wonderful hunter. It eats everything that lives around, but a special delicacy is the eggs and chicks of Arctic birds.
For an animal, frost of 80˚C does not pose a problem. The main thing is that there is water nearby, not covered with ice.
The female hunts all year round, leaving this activity only during pregnancy. During this period, she hides in a hole made of snow, bearing cubs, supporting the body with accumulated subcutaneous fat. Usually she gives birth to 2 babies, whom she quickly teaches all the intricacies of northern life.
Today, hunting the animal is prohibited. Killing them is allowed only for the purpose of self-defense.
The life expectancy of the animal reaches 25 - 30 years.
A polar bear never attacks a person. This can happen if the animal feels aggression from him. A predator can approach a person only out of curiosity. But if a person begins to feed the bear, then he will begin to perceive it as a source of food.
Gubach
The length of the predator reaches 2 m, the height at the withers is from 60 cm to 90 cm. Females are about a third smaller than males. The animal has a massive body with a large head and an elongated muzzle. His lips are always protruded forward, completely devoid of fur. The coat is often black, sometimes with a dirty brown tint.
You can meet a bear in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The bamboo bear, which previously had other names: cat bear, spotted bear, lives in the northern regions of China. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became the emblem of the country. Males are 10% larger than females and 20% heavier. The length reaches 1.8 m, weight – up to 160 kg. A panda is a bear with a special coat color: the main color is white, the paws, ears, and round spots around the eyes are black. The panda has a tail 10-15 cm long. The front paws have five toes and a sixth one, designed for tearing apart the thinnest bamboo stems. This plant is the main food of the animal, the daily norm is about 30 kg. Pandas, like all bears, need protein. To replenish it, they eat eggs, insects, and sometimes small animals.
The spotted bear's habitat is wide; in summer it climbs to a height of up to 4000 m to escape the heat.
The sexual maturity of the animal occurs from 4 to 8 years. Pregnancy lasts from 3 to 5.5 months. Usually 1 or 2 cubs are born, weighing up to 130 g. In this case, the mother takes care of the first baby, abandoning the second. Childbirth occurs once every 2 years. Therefore, the population is growing slowly. Life expectancy is 20 years.
The panda is considered an endangered species. According to the latest data, the number of animals is just over 2 thousand.
The Chinese authorities have taken the animal under state protection. The death penalty is provided for its destruction.
The birthplace of the animal is Australia. The answer to the question of which family it belongs to is controversial. The koala is both a marsupial mammal and a marsupial bear. Perhaps the only similarity with the appearance is external. Soft gray fur, small eyes, downturned nose, round ears leave no one indifferent.
The animal's height is only 60 cm, weighs from 4 kg to 13 kg. The limbs and claws of the beast are designed in such a way that it can climb trees.
The papillary pattern of the finger pads is so similar to that of a human that it is difficult to distinguish them even with a microscope.
The koala's diet consists of eucalyptus leaves and bark. A plant that is poisonous to others is not dangerous to the koala. Every day they eat from 500 g to 1 kg of the plant. To replenish microelements, they eat soil.
The marsupial bear is a slow animal, motionless for almost 20 hours a day. At this time, he chews leaves collected and stored behind his cheeks, or sleeps, or slowly moves along the tree trunk. The animal swims beautifully. He can jump, but he does it to escape danger or in search of food.
From October to February, koalas breed. Several females gather near one male. Pregnancy lasts a little over a month. The newborn stays in the mother's pouch for six months, where he feeds on her milk. For the next six months it lives on its mother’s fur, tenaciously holding on to it.
Animals are like children: they are easily tamed by humans. They love to be petted. Left alone, they begin to feel sad and cry.
The koala has no enemies, because the bear cub smells of eucalyptus. It is destroyed by drought, lack of food and poachers.
Koalas do not live long, only 18 years.
Nature took care of preserving the species by giving males two penises, and females two vaginas.
- They differ from other animals in that they distinguish colors.
- The only enemy of the polar bear is the shark, which lives up to 200 years. Its habitat is Greenland.
Savannahs are home to a variety of animals, both carnivorous and herbivorous, living in groups such as prides, packs or herds, and sometimes trying to survive alone in this harsh world.
Herbivores
The largest representative of herbivores is the African elephant, its weight sometimes exceeds 7.5 tons, and this animal reaches four meters in height. Despite such dimensions, this is an amazingly active animal. If the elephant is the most massive, then the giraffe is the tallest; its height can reach 5.8 meters, and an adult male weighs about 750 kilograms.
The most numerous herbivores on the savannah are antelopes:
Antelope Sable
Wildebeest
Greater Kudu
Bushbuck Antelope
Along with numerous antelopes, zebras have become widespread, also grazing in large herds:
Savannah zebras - Burchellova or plains
Desert zebras
Mountain zebras
Predatory animals
Today, the habitat of these animals is limited to the savannas of East Africa, as well as the southern territories of Ethiopia and Sudan. At the same time, in the expanses of savannahs in reservoirs there are numerous hippopotamuses, both dwarf and ordinary.
The weight of these animals can reach 3.2 tons, and their body length reaches 420 centimeters, with a shoulder height of 165 centimeters. The skin of this animal is without hair and only on the tail and muzzle there is hard hair.
Here are the animals that live in the savannah that belong to the predators:
Leopards
Spotted hyenas
The spotted hyena is the largest representative of this family, its weight reaches 82 kilograms, its body is at least 128 centimeters long, with a tail length of 33 centimeters. Its coarse fur is yellow-gray in color, with numerous round black spots scattered on it.
All animals living in the African savanna are links in the same food chain, at the top of which are large predators.
A characteristic inhabitant of taiga-type forests. It inhabits almost the entire forest belt of the European part of Russia, Siberia, and the Far East. In addition, the brown bear is found in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests of the mountainous regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia, where there are areas of wild nut-fruit trees. Unlike the polar bear, it is an omnivore.
A male brown bear can reach a length of 2.5 m and a body weight of up to 500-750 kg. In appearance, the brown bear is clumsy, although in reality it is very agile and dexterous: it can run fast, make big jumps, climb trees, and swim. He moves like a pacer, that is, he alternately steps on both right paws and then on his left paws. Leaning on the entire foot, it can rear up, stretching up to 3 m in height. A brown bear runs uphill faster than on level ground, since its hind legs are longer than its front ones. He walks through the forest carefully and almost silently. Unlike the polar bear, it avoids diving and plunges into the water, leaving its head outside. In quiet times, he walks slowly, placing his feet slightly inward, justifying the popular name “clubfooted.” Another name “honey-witch” is due to the fact that this animal loves honey very much and knows (knows) where to look for it. Behind him, he climbs tall trees into hollows with honeycombs of wild bees, and often raids apiaries.
By way of life, the brown bear is a crepuscular animal. During the day it hides in remote places of the taiga and only in the evening comes out in search of food. The forest provides him with abundant and varied food. At the beginning of summer, it eats young shoots, roots, bulbs, and later mushrooms, berries, acorns, and nuts. In the fall, it enters fields with oats or corn, where it causes more damage by crushing the ears and stems of plants. In the Caucasus, it visits groves of wild fruit trees, willingly eating pears and cherry plums; in Central Asia it eats pistachios, grapes, apricots, going out to their plantations. Sometimes it goes to the outskirts of large orchards, shaking apples and pears with ripe fruits. In the forest, it unravels ant heaps, peels off the bark from old stumps, hunting for bark beetles and other insects. Along the way, it eats eggs and chicks from nests on the ground, catches small rodents and frogs. During the course of fish in taiga rivers (in Kamchatka and the Far East), it catches it off the coast and eats it in large quantities. On occasion, it attacks moose, wild boar, reindeer, cows and horses. Often feeds on carrion.
With the onset of warm weather (in July), midges begin to rage in the taiga. Many mosquitoes, midges and other bloodsuckers cause severe suffering to animals. At this time, the bears cannot find a place for themselves because of the bites, they roll on the ground, scratch their faces with their paws until they bleed, and roar. Some go into the tundra, reaching the shores of the Arctic Ocean, where the wind saves them from mosquitoes.
By autumn, bears become fat, accumulating nutrients in their bodies for the period of winter starvation. Dens are made somewhere in a dry place, in a depression under a windbreak, an upturned stump with roots, in a rock crevice, etc. Males lie in a den separately from females. If in the summer a bear was poorly fed and not fat enough, then it wanders in search of food in the winter, becoming dangerous for large herbivores and even for humans. These are the so-called connecting rods. Most bears in a den fall into a state of winter sleep, without the need for food or drink. However, there is a widespread belief that bears, when in a den without food, suck their paws in order to extract nutritious juices from them and satisfy their hunger. In reality this is a misunderstanding, there is a different reason here. In bears, around February, old skin that has become rough over the summer peels off from the surface of the soles. The young, tender skin on the paws itches and freezes, so the bear licks the soles with a hot tongue, smacking his lips. That is why from the outside it seems that the bear is sucking its paw.
There are two predators in nature with which people are compared, saying that they are powerful, like a lion or a bear. These are magnificent animals that are kings of their habitats. In fact, no one knows who is stronger - a bear or a lion. One lives in taiga forests, the other in savannas, and meeting them in the wild is extremely unlikely, even impossible. Let's look at these animals separately and figure out which of them is endowed with greater physical strength.
Where does the brown bear live?
In Russia, this bear is distributed in almost all forests. They live in dense vegetation with windbreaks, deciduous trees and many shrubs. It can also go out into the tundra and thrive in high mountain forests.
A meeting between a person and a bear is possible; many of them end in disaster for the bear if it encounters a hunter. If an ordinary mushroom picker or forester comes into the sight of the owner of these places, then there is an opportunity to disperse peacefully, without bloodshed. Under no circumstances should you run from the beast, it will still be faster, but it is better to quietly move back, backing away and not turning away from the predator.
When you find yourself in places where brown bears live, you should talk loudly and make noise. Although these are large animals, they are very cautious, and the owner of the forest would prefer to avoid meeting people.
Lion habitats
Lions are distributed on two continents: Africa and the Asian part of Eurasia. Many prides live in India (Gir forest), and in Africa they are found mainly in the southwest. They inhabit savannas, sometimes venturing into forests or dense bushes. Previously, these big cats lived almost throughout the entire territory of our planet, but people exterminated them and contributed to extinction in certain areas due to environmental disturbances.
When meeting a person, a lion will show curiosity rather than aggression. People are not of interest to this cat as food. If the person himself begins to throw different things and wave his arms, then the lion, of course, will defend himself, and the instigator of the quarrel will not be able to escape. In most cases, a lion will avoid getting to know a person closely and, sensing his scent from afar, will disappear in another direction.
Brown bear mass
The largest representatives of this species of bear live in the territories of Kamchatka and Alaska. In the autumn, adults can weigh more than half a ton, and there are also bears that reach eight hundred kilograms. Smaller predators live in the middle zone of our country; they weigh from 80 to 180 kilograms.
If the bear stands up to its full height, it will be much taller than a large person. Its size can be more than two meters. His height at the withers, when he stands on all four legs, will be about a meter.
The largest is considered to be an inhabitant of the Berlin Zoo, which was brought from Kodiak. The mass of a brown bear is more than 1130 kilograms! This giant feels great outside of freedom, gets along well with zoo workers, and gladly shows off his beautiful appearance to visitors.
Lion sizes
An adult lion rarely weighs more than two hundred and fifty kilograms. Males of these cats are 20% larger than females. The body length, not including the tail, reaches three meters; it is very rare to come across lions whose size is less than two and a half meters.
But height and weight are not the main indicators of who is stronger - a bear or a lion. It is necessary to compare the force of their blow, the size of their claws and teeth.
Bear's punching power
An adult bear is very strong. He can easily break the backbone of a large cow with a blow of one paw, and tear it to shreds with non-retractable claws. The bear's claws do not retract, so it will not be possible to hide from them if he suddenly decides to wave his paw. If you measure the impact force in kilograms, you will be surprised, it averages one and a half tons! With one blow, this beast can throw a large animal weighing one hundred and fifty kilograms fifteen meters away. The bear prefers to “hugg” its prey until its bones crunch. No one has ever survived such a compression.
The bear's claws are long and powerful. In an adult male they can be from eight to ten centimeters. With these “knives” an angry predator can tear off the bark from a two-hundred-year-old tree or break dry things into splinters.
The bear's teeth are also huge, the fangs are ten centimeters long, but the animal uses them mainly for tearing food apart, and not for catching it. A bear can bite, its jaws clenching with a force of eighty atmospheres, which is much stronger than that of the most vicious fighting dog.
Lion's punching power
So who is stronger - a bear or a lion? We have looked at the strength of the bear, now let's study the lion.
If a cat with a mane wants to hit you with its paw, then at least half a ton of weight will fall on you. This would be enough to break the legs of a buffalo or the back of an antelope.
The lion's claws are shorter than those of the bear; they reach seven centimeters in length. This weapon is very dangerous and is the main thing for capturing the victim, but not for killing him. With its claws, the lion firmly holds future food or fights with enemies; they are retracted and released at his will.
Its eight-centimeter sharp teeth help the lion kill its prey. It is impossible to free yourself from the grip of a huge cat, as the jaws are compressed with a force of 160 atmospheres! This is twice the force of a bear's teeth.
Lion and bear: who is faster?
In order to compare the strength of predators, you will need knowledge of the speed limits of the competitors.
Lions in the wild can reach speeds of up to eighty kilometers per hour. They easily catch nimble antelopes, maneuvering remarkably well. Its flexible body and long tail help it jump up to three meters, which is an important hunting skill.
Also, lions are not the toughest of animals. They have a very small heart compared to their body weight and size, so they cannot maintain high speed for a long time. It is not uncommon to see an adult lion walking slowly after a failed hunt. Other cats that do not catch the prey the first time try again immediately. And a lion needs to rest in order to regain strength, even if the prey is very close.
Bears, unlike a lion, are not so fast, but still do not confirm the prevailing opinion about their slowness. The heavy predator reaches speeds of up to fifty-five kilometers per hour, and can maintain it for a long time. Bears, although clumsy, are very stubborn. If he has identified a victim, then he will chase it for several kilometers over a long period of time. That is why, when meeting the brown owner of the forest, do not attempt to escape. The bear will not stop, and you will get tired much faster than him.
Let's sum it up
So, now you can compare who is stronger - a bear or a lion. We have learned everything we need about these animals and can draw conclusions on this basis.
The lion wins with its jaw strength and agility, but it is unlikely that it will have time to grab the bear with its teeth if they suddenly meet. A huge enemy is capable of killing a big cat with just one blow with his powerful paw, and he himself can withstand its attack. The skin of a bear is very difficult to penetrate even with the claws of a lion, so the king of the savannas will need to manage to hit him several times in the same place.
Bears are still clumsy animals, and if a lion rushes unexpectedly, then the clubfoot most likely will have no chance to avoid the cat’s jaws clenching on itself. But again he still has a chance of survival. We have already written about the deadly hugs of bears, so he will be able to crush a rushing cat.
If we compare physical strength, the bear wins. But we did not consider the mental abilities of these predators. And in this regard, the lion will be the winner; he is much smarter than the taiga inhabitant.
The brown or common bear is a predatory mammal from the bear family. This is one of the largest and most dangerous species of land predators. There are about twenty subspecies of brown bear, differing in appearance and distribution area.
Description and appearance
The appearance of a brown bear is typical of all representatives of the bear family. The body of the animal is well developed and powerful.
Appearance
There is a high withers, as well as a fairly massive head with small ears and eyes. The length of the relatively short tail varies between 6.5-21.0 cm. The paws are quite strong and well developed, with powerful and non-retractable claws. The feet are very wide, five-toed.
Dimensions of a brown bear
The average length of a brown bear living in the European part is usually about one and a half to two meters with a body weight in the range of 135-250 kg. Individuals inhabiting the central zone of our country are somewhat smaller in size and can weigh approximately 100-120 kg. The Far Eastern bears and bears are considered the largest, their sizes often reaching three meters.
Skin color
The color of a brown bear is quite variable. Differences in the color of the skin depend on the habitat, and the color of the fur can vary from a light fawn shade to a bluish-black. The standard color is brown.
This is interesting! A characteristic feature of the grizzly bear is the presence of hair on the back with whitish ends, due to which there is a kind of graying on the coat. Individuals with a grayish-white color are found in the Himalayas. Animals with reddish-brown fur inhabit Syria.
Lifespan
Under natural conditions, the average life expectancy of a brown bear is approximately twenty to thirty years. In captivity, this species can live fifty years, and sometimes more. Rare individuals survive in natural conditions to the age of fifteen years.
Subspecies of brown bear
The brown bear species includes several subspecies or so-called geographical races, which differ in size and color.
The most common subspecies:
- European brown bear with a body length of 150-250 cm, tail length of 5-15 cm, height at the withers of 90-110 cm and an average weight of 150-300 kg. A large subspecies with a powerful build and a pronounced hump at the withers. General coloration varies from light grayish-yellow to blackish-dark brown. The fur is thick and long enough;
- Caucasian brown bear with an average body length of 185-215 cm and body weight of 120-240 kg. The coat is short, coarse, and paler in color than that of the Eurasian subspecies. Color ranges from a pale straw color to a uniform gray-brown color. There is a pronounced, large dark-colored spot in the withers area;
- East Siberian brown bear with a body weight of up to 330-350 kg and a large skull size. The fur is long, soft and dense, with a pronounced shine. The wool has a light brown or blackish-brown or dark brown color. Some individuals are characterized by the presence of fairly clearly visible yellowish and black shades in color;
- Ussuri or Amur brown bear. In our country, this subspecies is well known as the black grizzly. The average body weight of an adult male can vary between 350-450 kg. The subspecies is characterized by the presence of a large and well-developed skull with an elongated nasal part. The skin is almost black. A distinctive feature is the presence of long hair on the ears.
One of the largest subspecies in our country is the Far Eastern or Kamchatka brown bear, whose average body weight often exceeds 450-500 kg. Large adults have a large, massive skull and a wide, raised front of the head. The fur is long, dense and soft, pale yellow, blackish-brown or completely black in color.
The area where the brown bear lives
The natural distribution area of brown bears has undergone significant changes over the last century. Previously, the subspecies were found in vast areas stretching from England to the Japanese Islands, as well as from Alaska to central Mexico.
Today, due to the active extermination of brown bears and their eviction from inhabited territories, the most numerous groups of the predator are recorded only in the western part of Canada, as well as in Alaska and in the forest areas of our country.
Bear lifestyle
The period of activity of the predator occurs at dusk, early morning and evening hours. The brown bear is a very sensitive animal, orienting itself in space mainly through hearing, as well as smell. Poor vision is characteristic. Despite their impressive size and large body weight, brown bears are almost silent, fast and very easy to move predators.
This is interesting! The average running speed is 55-60 km/h. Bears swim quite well, but they can move through deep snow cover with great difficulty.
Brown bears belong to the category of sedentary animals, but young animals separated from the family are capable of wandering and actively looking for a partner. Bears mark and defend the boundaries of their territory. In the summer, bears rest directly on the ground, nestling among forbs and low shrubby plants. With the onset of autumn, the animal begins to prepare for itself a reliable winter shelter.
Nutrition and prey of the brown bear
Brown bears are omnivores, but the basis of their diet is vegetation, represented by berries, acorns, nuts, roots, tubers and the stem parts of plants. In a lean year, oats and corn are good substitutes for berries. Also, the predator’s diet necessarily includes all kinds of insects, represented by ants, worms, lizards, frogs, field and forest rodents.
Large adult predators are capable of attacking young artiodactyls. Roe deer, fallow deer, deer, wild boar and elk can become prey. An adult brown bear can break the back of its prey with one blow of its paw, after which it covers it with brushwood and guards it until the carcass is completely eaten. Near water areas, some subspecies of brown bears hunt seals, fish and seals.
Grizzly bears are capable of attacking baribal bears and taking prey from smaller predators.
This is interesting! Regardless of age, brown bears have excellent memory. These wild animals are able to easily remember mushroom or berry places, and also quickly find their way to them.
The basis of the diet of the Far Eastern brown bear in summer and autumn is salmon going to spawn. In lean years and poor food supply, a large predator is capable of attacking even domestic animals and grazing livestock.
Reproduction and offspring
The mating season of the brown bear lasts a couple of months and begins in May, when the males engage in fierce fights. Females mate with several adult males at once. Latent pregnancy involves the development of an embryo only during the hibernation stage of the animal. The female carries the cubs for approximately six to eight months.. Blind and deaf, completely helpless and covered with sparse hair, the cubs are born in a den. As a rule, the female bears two or three babies, whose height at the time of birth does not exceed a quarter of a meter and weighs 450-500 g.
This is interesting! In the den, the cubs feed on milk and grow up to three months, after which they develop milk teeth and become able to independently feed on berries, vegetation and insects. However, cubs are breastfed for up to one and a half years or more.
Not only the female takes care of the offspring, but also the so-called nurse daughter, who appeared in the previous litter. The cubs live next to the female until they are about three or four years old, until they reach puberty. The female usually produces offspring once every three years.
Brown bear hibernation
The sleep of a brown bear is completely different from the period of hibernation characteristic of other species of mammals. During hibernation, the brown bear's body temperature, breathing rate, and pulse remain virtually unchanged. The bear does not fall into a state of complete stupor, and in the first days only dozes.
At this time, the predator listens sensitively and reacts to the slightest danger by leaving the den. In a warm winter with little snow, and with plenty of food, some males do not hibernate. Sleep occurs only with the onset of severe frosts and can last less than a month. During sleep, the reserves of subcutaneous fat that were accumulated in the summer and autumn are wasted.
Preparation for sleep
Winter shelters are established by adults in reliable, remote and dry places, under a windbreak or the roots of a fallen tree. The predator is able to independently dig a deep den in the ground or occupy mountain caves and rock crevices. Pregnant brown bears try to create a deeper, more spacious, warm den for themselves and their offspring, which is then lined from the inside with moss, spruce branches and fallen leaves.
This is interesting! Young bear cubs always spend the winter with their mother. Such a company can be joined by bear cubs in their second year of life.
All adult and solitary predators hibernate alone. The exception is individuals living on the territory of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Here, the presence of several adult individuals in one den is often observed.
Duration of hibernation
Depending on weather conditions and some other factors, brown bears can stay in a den for up to six months. The period when a bear lies in a den, as well as the duration of hibernation itself, may depend on the conditions imposed by weather conditions, the yield of the fattening food base, gender, age parameters and even the physiological state of the animal.
This is interesting! An old wild animal that has gained a lot of fat goes into hibernation much earlier, even before significant snow cover falls, while young and insufficiently fed individuals lie down in a den in November-December.
The period of occurrence lasts for a couple of weeks or several months. Pregnant females are the first to settle in for the winter. Lastly, old males occupy dens. The same place for hibernation in winter can be used by a brown bear for several years.
Bears-rods
Shatun is a brown bear that has not had time to accumulate a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat and, for this reason, is not able to hibernate. In the process of searching for any food, such a predator is capable of wandering around the surrounding area all winter. As a rule, such a brown bear moves uncertainly and has a shabby and relatively exhausted appearance.
This is interesting! When meeting dangerous opponents, brown bears emit a very loud roar, stand on their hind legs and try to knock down their opponent with a strong blow from their powerful front paws.
Hunger forces the beast to often appear in close proximity to human habitation. The connecting rod bear is typical of northern regions characterized by harsh winters, including the Far East and Siberia. A massive invasion of connecting rod bears can occur during lean seasons, approximately once every ten years. Hunting connecting rod bears is not a commercial activity, but a necessary measure.
