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They live all around the world, from the mountains of South America and Arctic ice floes, to
the bamboo forests of China: bears.
Bears are mammals, which means that they breathe air, they are warm-blooded, they are covered
in fur, and they feed their babies milk.
There are eight different species of bears: brown bears, polar bears,
Asian black bears, also known as the moon bear,
American black bears, sun bears, also called 'honey bears,' sloth bears, spectacled,
or Andean bears, and giant pandas.
Bears can be found in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
They were once found in northern Africa, but they went extinct there in the 1870s.
Bears can be recognized by their large size, with short, furry bodies, thick legs, small
eyes, round ears, and short tails.
The largest bears on earth are polar bears, which can weigh up to 1600 lbs or 730 kg.
The smallest living bears are sun bears, which reach maximum weights of only 150 lbs or 68 kg.
Bears' paws are tipped with long claws, which are not retractable.
That means that bears' claws are showing all the time.
Bears are quadrupeds, meaning they walk on four legs, but they are able to stand up on
their hind legs.
Although bears may look slow, they can run at speeds of up to 35 miles or 55 kilometers per hour.
They can also usually climb, and swim, and they have a strong sense of smell and hearing.
Except for mothers with cubs, bears usually live alone.
Bears can live to be about 25 years old.
Bears that live in cold climates often hibernate, or go into a deep sleep, during the winter
when food is hard to find.
During hibernation, bears' body temperature will drop, their heart rate will slow, and
they will not wake to eat, drink, or use the bathroom.
To prepare to hibernate, bears will eat as much food as they can to gain the fat they
need to survive the winter.
During this time some brown bears will eat as much as 90 pounds or 40 kg of food per day!
A bear may lose half its body weight during hibernation, which for some types of bears
may last as long as seven months.
For the most part, bears are omnivores - meaning they eat both meat and plants.
There are two main exceptions: polar bears, which eat almost exclusively meat, and giant
pandas, which eat almost exclusively plants.
Bears will eat insects, nuts, berries, sap, honey, and roots, as well as fish, deer, and
caribou, and other mammals.
Bears will also eat carrion, or animals that have already died.
Most bears are the apex predators of the ecosystems where they live.
That means that no other animals hunt them.
As large predators, bears can be dangerous to humans.
Anywhere that bears and people live close together, there can be trouble!
In the past, bears that came too close to human settlements were killed to protect people
and livestock, as well as for their meat and thick fur.
Today bears are threatened most by loss of habitat and increased human settlement, as
forests are cut down and fields are planted for farms and cities.
Of the eight bear species in the world, every one except the brown bear and American black
bear are considered vulnerable to extinction, meaning that unless we learn how to share
our world with these large and interesting creatures, someday they may be gone for good.
I hope you enjoyed learning about bears today.
Goodbye till next time!