Kay de Silva - Bears: Amazing Pictures & Fun Facts on Animals in Nature (Our Amazing World Series Book 11)

BEARS

Copyright Notice

Bears - Our Amazing World Series

Copyright 2014 by Kay de Silva - All rights reserved

Please respect the author's copyright of this work. You may use this e-book for your personal enjoyment. Like a printed book you may share it with family and friends. In so doing please do not change the format or modify the content in any way. In addition, your license to enjoy this work does not extend to re-selling, using or re-distributing this work wholly or partially for any other commercial endeavour. In all other respects, as a licensed owner of this e-book you are invited to enjoy and benefit from this work. Please support the author, by spreading the word about this work to those who could benefit by it and encouraging them to obtain a personal license to enjoy the book.

Image Credits: Royalty Free images reproduced under licence from various stock image repositories. Images produced under a creative commons licences are duly attributed.

Marine Life Four-Pack

Dinosaurs

Tigers

Sharks

Snakes

Spiders

Bears

Horses

Dolphins

Sea Turtles

Whales

Penguins

Marsupials

Bears

A Bear is a mammal . Like all mammals it is warm-blooded and has a backbone.

Habitat

Bears are found all over the world, except in Australia and Antarctica. Bears make their homes in mountains, forests, grasslands, and the Arctic.

Anatomy

Bears have strong bodies, shaggy coats, and short tails. They have large heads, short ears, and powerful limbs. Their sharp teeth are used for tearing and grinding.

Each species or type of bear has differently shaped claws. Climbing bears such as Black Bears have strong and curved claws that enable them to grip tree barks. Grizzly Bears and other bears that dig have long, straight claws.

Movement

Bears usually walk on all fours. They walk flat-footedthat is, with both heel and sole touching the ground.

They can, however, run as fast as 35 mph (miles per hour) when they need to. This is fast enough to catch a running horse.

Bears are bow-legged. This gives them good balance and grip. They can also stand upright and walk on their hind feet for short distances, just like humans. This is why Native Americans call the bear the beast that walks like a man. Bears are also great tree climbers and powerful swimmers.

Senses

Bears can see and hear almost as well as humans. They use their keen eyesight to spot fruits that are ripe for the picking.

The bears sense of smell, however, is about 100 times better than a human's. They use this extraordinary sense when hunting or scavenging for food. Bears smell their prey from miles away.

Diet

Bears are omnivores . This means that they eat both plant and animal matter. Bears that hunt in the forest, such as Brown Bears, feed on elk, caribou, and baby deer. Bears in the Arctic enjoy seals and walruses. Those who live by rivers eat wild salmon.

Bears are also scavengers . They find and eat leftovers or carrion . Carrion is the rotting remains of an animal that died naturally or had been killed but not completely eaten by another animal.

Insects, berries, nuts, sap, roots, and branches are also part of a bear's diet. When a bear finds a bee hive, it tears the hive apart to enjoy the honey. A bear's thick fur protects it from bee stings.

Territory

An animal's territory is a space that it considers its own. A male bear is a territorial creature. It marks its territory using urine and droppings, much like dogs do. So a bear depends on its sense of smell to keep away from another bear's territory.

A female bear is protective of her young, and not of her territory. A mother bear will fight anything that may harm her babies.

Defence

Although bears are peace-loving, bear confrontations or fights can be very brutal. A confrontation will often end up in death or serious injury. Bears, however, act defensively before they attack.

A defensive bear will behave in a certain way. It may growl, huff, or swing its head from side to side. It may rise to its full height on its hind legs and fluff its fur or turn sideways. This is to make it look bigger in the eyes of its enemies.

It may also walk around with stiffened front legs or slap one or two feet around or on the ground. In addition, it may also quickly open and close its mouth. This is known as jaw popping .

Hibernation

During the cold winter months some animals become inactive and fall into a deep, sleep-like state. This is known as hibernation . Hibernation helps animals save energy during winter when food is not easily available. During these times animals slowly use stored body fat to survive.

It is said that bears are not true hibernators. This is because unlike true hibernators, a bears temperature drops slightly and the bear is easily awakened, so this bear activity is called winter sleep.

Not all bears fall into a winter sleep. This depends on where they live. Bears that live in habitats where it is warm and who have plenty of food all year round do not need winter sleep.

Mating

Male bears are called boars , and females are called sows . Bears that live in warmer climates mate all year round. Others mate during spring.

When mating is complete, boars go away. Most boars never see the sow again. Neither do they see their cubs.

Bear Cubs

After 3 to 6 months inside their mother, baby bears are born. Baby bears are called cubs . They are born tiny and helpless. A newborn is about the size of a kitten.

At first these toothless cubs are unable to see or hear. Bear cubs depend on their mother to feed and protect them. In the first few months, cubs feed only on their mother's milk. In the early days bear cubs are usually carried by the scruff of their necks.