In the town of Prats de Molló, in Vallespir, Northern Catalonia, a "bear festival" (festa de l'ós) is celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, in which the locals dress up as bears, cover themselves with soot or coal and oil, and "attack" the onlookers, attempting to get everyone dirty. It is thought the Eurasian bears which colonized America were tundra-adapted. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear living in much of northern Eurasia and North America.It is smaller than the polar bear, but is the largest carnivore which lives entirely on the land. Kodiak bears live exclusively on the islands in the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. 1. We may be at the top of the food chain, but 80 to 90% of our diet is vegetation. The Alaska Science Center ranks the following as the most likely reasons for bear attacks: Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection variables. In Asia, brown bears are found in most of Russia, parts of the Middle East, and in a small area of Manchuria in China. Cubs are born between January and March. Sometimes the tips of their fur are colored. Sounds expressing anger or aggravation include growls, roars, woofs, champs and smacks, while sounds expressing nervousness or pain include woofs, grunts and bawls. Weight: About 400 to 1200 pounds for males. A grizzly may chow down on 90 pounds (40 kilograms) of food each day. Brown bears vary in size, and in the thickness and shade of their fur. clean energy for kids. Spectacled Bear. Brown Bear Facts & Trivia for kids The Grizzly Bear is one of several subspecies of a Brown Bear. Brown bears live in Alaska, east through the Yukon and Northwest Territories, south through British Columbia and through the western half of Alberta. Brown bears are omnivores --they eat plants and meat, and they aren't too picky about what's on the menu. The subspecies have been listed as follows: A Grizzly–polar bear hybrid (known as a pizzly Bear or grolar bear) is a rare ursid hybrid resulting from a union of a brown bear and a polar bear. Europe, Caucasus, Siberia (except the east) and Mongolia, A predominantly dark colored (rarely light colored), moderately-sized subspecies with dark claws, the Eurasian browns occurring in Siberia are larger than their European counterparts, as they are hunted less. Diaper Kids Ru. They eat berries, apples, honey, fish, insects, worms, nuts, grasses, leaves, carrion, rodents and rabbits. Although they are not full hibernators, and can be woken easily; both sexes like to den in a protected spot, such as a cave, crevice, or hollow log, during the winter months. The Brown Bear is often mistaken for a Grizzly Bear, which is a subspecies, due to the resemblance in their physical appearance. Brown bears are mostly solitary, although they may gather in large numbers at major food sources and form social hierarchies based on age and size. This bear is believed extinct due to cattle ranching in both the United States and Mexico. The size of a litter also depends on factors such as geographic location and food supply. The claws are blunt, while those of a black bear are sharp. This is a moderately-sized subspecies with long and shaggy fur. They can stand at an average size of … The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos ssp.) Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age. Brown Bears live in Russia, United States and Canada. 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. They are largely solitary creatures, though they congregate in huge numbers to feast on fish. The baby cubs will find their way to their mothers chest and nurse and sleep until the mother bear wakes up. Brown bears have an extremely large geographic distribution, and their worldwide population totals more than 200,000 individuals. American Black Bear. This "winter sleep" allows the bears to stay alive for a long period of time when there is little or no food available to them. A small population of brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) still lives in central Italy (Apennine mountains, Abruzzo and Latium), with no more than 70 individuals, protected by strong laws, but endangered by the human presence in the area. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless, hairless, and weigh less than 450 grams (1 lb). All brown bears aren’t brown in color. By the time she does wake up her teeny little cubs are much larger and quite playful! The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity. The festival ends with the ball de l'os (bear dance). Top Ten Richest Kid In African. The coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit, whereas the Swiss city of Bern's coat of arms also depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly thought to derive from the German word for bear. Bears who eat lots of salmon put on weight quickly. Bears are Mammals; A Long Winters Nap; Lunch Time! Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species has classified the brown bear as a species of least concern. The species entered Alaska 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago. The fur around the neck is light, and forms a "collar". Brown bear are not naturally aggressive towards humans. Brown bears also occasionally prey on large mammals, such as deer (including elk, moose and caribou), bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bison and muskoxen. In the summer, they eat plenty of food to build up their body fat and help them survive the cold winter months. When fully grown Brown bears are about 5–7 feet in length and can be almost 9 feet tall when they are standing. Perhaps the most obvious of polar bear facts for kids is that polar bears are white. The dimensions of the brown bear ranges greatly according to the subspecies, and living location. This page was last modified on 23 December 2020, at 02:10. In fact, bears have traditionally not only been a symbol of pride and power in Russia, but have also been common images in … On average, the brown bears which live in interior Alaska, Yellowstone national park and Europe have the weight around 254 to 794 lb or 115 to 360 kg. They are omnivores and feed on a variety of plant products, including berries, roots, and sprouts, and fungi, as well as meat products such as fish, insects, and small mammals. North American brown bears, or grizzly bears, seem to prefer open landscapes, whereas in Eurasia they inhabit mostly dense forests. The brown bear and the polar bear … This is called hibernating , when bears sleep through the winter because the weather is cold and there isn't much food. The claws are dark; it is thought to be the ancestor of, A predominantly dark form, it is intermediate in size between, Grizzlies are identified by a medium to dark brown coat with gray, or "grizzled" tips on the fur. Some are black or cream; Brown bears dig craves where they sleep most of the winters; Brown bears give birth to their baby in sleep. As bears reclaim parts of their range, they may eat livestock. They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer, depending on climate conditions. Get facts about black bears here. Yellowstone National Park, an enormous reserve located in the western United States, contains prime habitat for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), and due to the enormous number of visitors, human-bear encounters are common. Habituated or food-conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness, and, in some cases, to associate humans with food. With a round head, small ears, and a wide skull, the Eurasian bear is hard to miss. They are extinct in the British Isles, extremely threatened in France and Spain, and in trouble over most of Central Europe. The brown bear is the most widespread of all bears. They also feed on carrion, and use their size to intimidate other predators, such as wolves, cougars, tigers, and black bears from their kills. Mama bear doesn't even wake up as her blind and hairless cub is born midwinter. Unfortunately, these populations are isolated from each other, inhibiting any genetic flow between ecosystems. Polar Bear. Smaller than the coastal bear, a grizzly typically weighs up to 800 lb (364 kg) in inland areas, with bears in the. Brown bears first evolved in North American around 50,000 years ago. Fascinating brown bear facts tell us that these creatures are very human like, specifically with regard to their sight and their intelligence. Polar bears hold the title of the largest species of bear, on all fours that are an average of 3.5 to 5 feet, whilst standing on their hind legs they can be as big as 10 feet. The summer fur is much shorter and sparser, and its length and density varies geographically. Sun Bear – If the famous character Winnie the Pooh were to choose a favorite bear, the sun bear might be it. Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack. Brown bears are comfortable in water and in some areas fish for salmon. There are many different types of brown bears, including the grizzly from North America. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity. There are about 200,000 brown bears in the world. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to 9 kilograms (15 to 20 lb) and have developed enough to follow her and begin to forage for solid food. All rights reserved. The winter fur is very thick and long, especially in northern subspecies, and can reach 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 in) at the withers. In the winter, some brown bears' fur can reach 4 to 5 inches in length. Female bears with cubs rival adult males in aggression, and are more intolerant of other bears than single females. While we enjoy salmon and trout, brown bears also eat a lot of berries, roots, grass, fruits, nuts, and small animals. The Kodiak bear from Alaska is the largest and lives on Kodiak Island in Alaska. There have been cases of bears with five cubs, although females sometimes adopt stray cubs. 2. POPULATION: In the Lower 48 states there are 800 - 1,020 brown bears surviving. The oldest fossils occur in China from about 0.5 million years ago. It has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In the summer, it gains up to 180 kilograms (400 lb) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Its total population is about 200,000. They mostly eat grasses, herbs and fruit, but will sometimes eat other things, including fish. Distinct in its ability to survive arid conditions, it could live in both montane pine forests of Mexico and canyonlands of Sonoran Desert. Related. Brown bears are often not fully brown. Facts about Brown Bears 10: the largest brown bears. 3. Bears of the last frontier brown bear fact sheet nature pbs brown bear facts for kids yourkidsplanet com brown bear fun facts for kids brown bear fun facts for kids. In the summer, their fur is shorter. Light colored forms are encountered less than in European-Siberian subspecies. The female bear will hibernate all winter long, not even waking up to give birth! In German speaking countries, children are often told the fairytale of Snow White and Rose Red; the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown bear. 10. The Marsican brown bear in central Italy is believed to have a population of just 30 to 40 bears. They are around 7.25 to 8 foot in length and weigh around 775 to 1,200 lbs (male) / 330 to 650 lbs (female). The female brown bear enters her den pregnant with one (sometimes two or three) baby bears. Fur length varies according to the season. For example, bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 in a day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects. to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals. Baby brown bear drinks their mother milk and stay warm in their mother’s fur ; The hibernation period of brown bear lasts till 5 to 8 years. In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian arctic. Interesting facts about Kodiak bears The Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi) is the largest recognized subspecies of brown bear. The skull is distinguished its relatively flattened choanae, an arch-like curve of the molar row and large teeth. The warming of that region has allowed the species to move farther north into what was once exclusively the domain of the polar bear. Asiatic Bear; Black Bear; Brown Bear; Giant Panda; Polar Bear; Sloth Bear; Spectacled Bear; Sun Bear; Bear Mythology and Folklore; Interesting Facts . Of these, about 350 live in northwestern Montana, Printable version of these facts. Cubs remain with their mother from two to four years, during which time they learn survival techniques, such as which foods have the highest nutritional values and where to obtain them; how to hunt, fish, and defend themselves; and where to den. Brown bears mate from May to July. The population of brown bears in the Pyrenees mountain range between France and Spain is so low, estimated at 14 to 18, with a shortage of females, that bears, mostly female, from Slovenia were released in spring 2006 to reduce the imbalance and preserve the species' presence in the area, despite protests from French farmers. Brown bears are thought to have evolved from Ursus etruscus. The Carpathian brown bear population of Romania is the largest in Europe outside Russia, estimated at 4,500 to 5,000 bears, although declining alarmingly due to overhunting. The hair of this coat can grow up to five inches long. Bear Sense; Mating; Cubs; Bear Footed; Predators and Self-defense; Bear Species. The largest Eurasian bear ever recorded reached lengths of more than eigh… Facts about Brown Bears 9: the weight of brown bears. Northern Europe is home to a large bear population, with an estimated 2,500 (range 2,350–2,900) in Sweden, about 1,600 in Finland, about 700 in Estonia and 70 in Norway. However, many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. Sows with cubs account for the majority of injuries and fatalities in North America. Brown bears often figure into the literature of Europe and North America, in particular that which is written for children. Another large and relatively stable population of brown bears in Europe, consisting of 2,500–3,000 individuals, is the Dinaric-Pindos (Balkans) population, with contiguous distribution in northeast Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. Plenty of food each day even wake up as her blind and hairless cub is born.! 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