A brief summary of the brown bear. Brown bear description for children

Brown bear- the national symbol of our country. This animal impresses with its power and courage. The brown bear is a representative of predatory mammals. It belongs to the bear family. Today we will talk about brown bears - about these proud and strong animals.

On our planet, this species is represented by several subspecies that live in different parts of the world.

The varieties of the brown bear are:

1. Apennine brown bear,
2. gobi brown bear,

Appearance of brown bears

Depending on the habitat, this species has a variation in weight and height. Average individuals reach a mass of 350 to 600 kilograms. The body length of brown bears is from 1.2 to 2 meters. Males, as a rule, are almost 2 times larger than females.

Representatives of this species of the bear family have a very powerful physique, a massive head. The eyes and ears of these predators are not very large. To hold such a powerful body, nature provided strong paws with strong sharp claws in brown bears.

The hairline of these bears is very thick, the color varies and depends on the territory of residence. But in the bulk, this species is colored in tones from light fawn to black. In grizzlies, the hair on the dorsal part of the body has light tips, and the Tien Shan bears are painted in a grayish-white color.

Where does the brown bear live?

The territory inhabited by various subspecies of brown bears is quite wide. In the European part, this species can be found in the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines. The Scandinavian Peninsula is also inhabited by them. Very common in Finland. Sometimes it is found in the Carpathians and forests of central Europe.

The brown bear also lives in Asia. They inhabit certain parts of Palestine, Iraq and Iran, China, Korea, and Japan. In our country, this species lives in almost all forests, except for the most southern ones. Subspecies of the brown bear (grizzly and kodiak) inhabited the North American continent and live in Canada, Alaska and nearby islands.

Lifestyle of brown bears

This species of the bear family is a solitary animal leading a vagrant lifestyle. This behavior is due to the constant search for food. If there is plenty of food for a brown bear in the inhabited area, then it does not go too far from its “familiar” place.

The natural areas of his residence are dense forests or clearings with nearby water bodies. Bears of this species are quite dexterous, despite their clumsy appearance. As young individuals, they are excellent at climbing trees, and the ability to swim well is retained for life.

Active life comes at dusk or at night. It hibernates for the winter. But some subspecies of brown bears stay awake all winter.

What does a brown bear eat?

Most of the diet for him is plant foods: wild berries (blueberries, raspberries), oats and corn. It feeds on both insects and their larvae. Very often enjoys honey. It rarely attacks large animals, but among small animals it likes to eat mice, chicken eggs and their chickens. Having come to the reservoir for food, the bears fish very well and then eat their catch with pleasure.

Reproduction and offspring of brown bears

The mating season for these animals begins in May. At this time, the bears have a bad temper and it is better to avoid meeting with them, because you can run into "rudeness". They do not control their behavior well, and therefore can become easy prey. After mating, the female carries the cubs for about seven months.

The bear family (Ursidae) includes the largest of modern terrestrial predators. Most taxonomists believe that there are currently eight species of bears on Earth (they, in turn, are divided into many different subspecies), belonging to three different branches.

Bears are found on every continent except Africa, Australia and Antarctica. Three types of bears - spectacled, sloth and Malay - live in the tropics, but the center of origin of the bear family is in the Northern Hemisphere. A long time ago, the brown bear was also found in the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa.

Bears are predominantly inhabitants of various types of forests and light forests. One species - the polar bear - inhabits the Arctic deserts and ice.

The most probable ancestors of modern bears were small predators that lived 25 million years ago (subfamily Agriotheriinae). The most ancient member of this group, Ursavus elmensis, possessed long tail and looked like a raccoon, but the animals are more late period already resembled modern bears both in size and in appearance. This group gave rise to three modern subfamilies. The giant panda separated from the common trunk first, then the real bears (Ursus and his relatives) and the spectacled bears (Tremarctos) separated.

Depending on the species, the body length of a predator can vary from 1 to 3 meters, the mass of individual polar and brown bears can reach up to 1000 kg. Males are significantly larger than females.

The addition of bears is heavy, awkward. To support a large mass, their hind limbs are plantigrade (when walking, the entire sole is pressed to the ground). This also allows them to lift freely and stand on their hind legs. The structure of the front paws is different in different species of bears - from plantigrade to semi-toed (the back of the foot is partially raised above the ground). All species have five toes on each paw, equipped with curved, non-retractable claws.

The skull of bears is massive, larger than that of other predators; the facial section is of medium length or shortened (especially in a spectacled bear). Wide molars with flat chewing surfaces and rounded fangs are well suited for crushing and grinding plant foods. Polar bears are exclusively carnivores, so their teeth are sharper. Depending on the species, bears have 40-42 teeth.

The fur of bears is thick and long; the coloration is usually dark, uniform, from brown to black (as an exception, white or contrasting two-tone), sometimes with a light pattern on the head and chest. The tail is very short; ears are small, rounded; the lips are large and very mobile.

Polar bears and most New World browns do not climb trees, only European browns and all other species climb trees where they feed or sleep, but they still prefer to spend most of their time on the ground. For a carnivorous animal that climbs trees, bears have surprising features - they have too short tails and completely lack facial vibrissae.

Most species of bears are non-specialized omnivores that feed on both berries, nuts, shoots, rhizomes and leaves of plants, as well as meat, fish and insects. They have an excellent sense of smell, color vision and a good memory, which allows them to remember places rich in food. It should be noted that bears do not digest vegetable food very well, since there are no symbiotic microorganisms in their gastrointestinal tract that can decompose fiber (these bacteria are found in the stomach of ruminants). Therefore, plant fibers and berries are excreted from the body almost undigested.

Photo and description of modern species of bears

And now let's get to know each of the eight types of bears closer.

Brown bear or common bear (Ursus arctos) is a typical representative of the bear family; found in Russia, Canada and Alaska. Prefers to settle in old forests, avoids wide open spaces, but can also live at an altitude of up to 5000 meters above sea level, where there are no forests anymore. Habitats are usually confined to freshwater bodies of water.

The brown bear is a large animal: its body length is 1.5-2.8 m, the height at the shoulders is up to 1.5 m. Males weigh from 60 to 800 kg. The mass of adult predators varies depending on the time of year and geographical habitat. The smallest is the pika-eater from the mountains of Central Asia, and the largest is the Kodiak from Alaska and Kamchatka.

The photo shows a brown bear in all its glory.

Polar bear

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest living member of the family. The length of his body is 2-2.5 m, the height at the withers is about 1.5 m, the body weight is on average 350-450 kg, but there are also giants with a body weight of more than 500 kg.

Distributed on the Arctic coast of the Arctic Ocean, in Northern Canada.

The color of the fur is pure white, often yellowish due to oil contamination, especially in summer. The fur is thick and warm, but the main warming function is played by a thick layer of subcutaneous fat.

The polar bear is the only member of the family that lives exclusively on a meat diet. He hunts young walruses, ringed seals, sea hares, beluga whales and narwhals.

On the picture polar bear with bear cubs. The female usually gives birth to two cubs once every 3 years. You can read more about polar bears in the article.

Black bear

The black bear or baribal (Ursus americanus) is found in Canada, northern Mexico, the USA, except for the central part of the Great Plains. Lives in dense forests, thickets of bushes, as well as in more open areas.

The size of a black bear varies depending on geographical location and season. Baribals are larger in the northern and eastern regions of their range. The length of their body varies from 1.2 to 1.9 meters, the height at the withers is from 0.7 to 1 meter.

The photo shows a black bear on a tree. The ability to climb trees is vital for baribals - here they feed and hide in case of danger.

The Himalayan or white-breasted bear (Ursus thibetanus) is found from Iran to Southeast Asia, Northern China, Primorye, Japan, and Taiwan. Prefers to settle in the forests of the temperate zone, subtropics and tropics.

Body length - 1.2-1.9 meters, weight of males 60-200 kg, females - 40-140 kg. Due to the long hair, the Himalayan bear seems to be much larger than it really is. The coat is black with a white v-shaped mark on the chest, another mark is on the chin; around the neck there is a collar made of long wool. Apparently, the collar plays a role in protection against predators, because this species has always coexisted next to the tiger.

The white-breasted bear climbs trees beautifully, often building something resembling a nest, bending branches to the trunk.

The Himalayan bear is a rare vulnerable species. For 3,000 years, man has been hunting him because of his paws and gallbladder (dried bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine).

Lifespan Himalayan bear up to 25 years in nature and up to 37 years in captivity.

Malayan bear

The Malayan Bear or Biruang (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest species of bear, sometimes referred to as the "dog bear". Due to their small size and friendly disposition, in Asia, buriangs are often kept in captivity as pets. Their body length does not exceed 140 cm, they weigh 27-65 kilograms. The coat of Malayan bears is short, black, with a white, orange or dark yellow crescent-shaped chest marking.

There are Malayan bears in Southeast Asia and East India. Their life is closely connected with trees, where they often sleep in specially built nests. They feed mainly on various fruits, but if such food is not enough, they switch to insects.

Malayan bears are diurnal. They breed at any time of the year, and the duration of pregnancy varies greatly (from 3 to 8 months).

In captivity, the Malayan bear can live up to 33 years.

The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) lives in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka. It is found mainly in lowland forests and steppes.

Body length - 1.4-1.9 meters, weight - 80-190 kg. The sloth coat is long, thick, black in color with a white spot on the chest. Its claws are slightly curved, the palate is wide, and the lips are elongated (this is how it got its name). These adaptations help the sloth beetle to dig up and suck up termites, which make up a large part of its diet. And he got his generic name (Melursus) for his special love for honey: he often climbs trees and is ready to endure bee stings, just to feast on honeycombs. In addition to termites, various other insects and honey, sloth eats berries with pleasure.

The sloth has a long coat, which is quite surprising for a species that lives in the rainforest. Apparently, it plays the same role as the loose clothing worn by people living in hot climates.

The sloth bear is a vulnerable species. In captivity, life expectancy is up to 34 years.

Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) Lives in the Andes from eastern Venezuela to the border of Bolivia and Argentina. It occurs in a wide variety of biotypes: in mountainous and humid tropical forests, alpine meadows and even in deserts.

Body length - 1.3-2.0 meters, weight - 100-200 kg. The coat is black with a creamy white bib mark on the chin, neck, chest; around the eyes there are white markings of various shapes (hence the name of the bear).

The spectacled bear is a rather slender animal. Despite its relatively large size, it is agile and good at climbing trees, where it obtains food and builds nests for rest from branches and twigs.

In different habitats, the diet of spectacled bears varies, but food of plant origin (fruits, bamboo, cacti, etc.) predominates everywhere. They also enter the fields of grain crops, corn, which annoy farmers a lot.

In captivity, a spectacled bear lives up to 39 years.

Giant panda

The giant panda or bamboo bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is found in Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu of central and western China. Prefers cool moist bamboo forests at an altitude of 1500-3400 meters above sea level.

The height of the giant panda at the withers is 70-80 cm, weight is 100-150 kg. The wool of the bamboo bear is black and white (circles around the eyes, the area around the nose, front and hind legs and shoulders are black, everything else is white).

The diet consists predominantly of bamboo; occasionally pandas eat bulbs of various plants, cereals, insects and rodents.

In nature, a panda usually lives up to 20 years, in captivity - up to 30 years.

Today, great efforts are being made to preserve the giant panda, however, despite the most severe ban, animals still become victims of poachers. They also fall into traps set on other animals. Read more about the giant panda.

What types of bears are the most dangerous?

Bears are often referred to as aggressive and dangerous animals. Indeed, their strength and size allow them to easily cope with a person, but the tendency of bears to attack people is greatly exaggerated.

Only polar bears, being real predators, are perhaps the only members of the family that actually sometimes perceive a person as prey, while tracking him down according to all the rules of hunting. Their attacks are driven by hunger, not fear. It is polar bears that are considered the most dangerous to humans. However, not many people live near polar bears, and people, knowing who they might have to deal with, always carry weapons with them.

In second place in terms of danger to humans are brown bears, but their aggressiveness largely depends on geographical location a habitat. Grizzlies in the center of the American continent, as well as bears living in Siberia, are really dangerous. This is especially true of she-bears who protect their cubs, or animals that defend their prey. In the eastern regions of Europe, more aggressive individuals are found. But in general, all bears, like other wild animals, try not to get in the way of a person and, if possible, avoid meeting with him.

American black bears, especially those that live next to humans, often frighten people, but very rarely cause them any harm.

Spectacled bears are very cautious and absolutely not aggressive towards humans, but it happens that they attack livestock.

Among the Asian bears, only the giant panda is a true vegetarian, and naturally, it does not pose any danger to humans.

Malay bears are often scary local residents. If they are accidentally disturbed, they usually rear up, roar furiously and make a sharp lunge towards the enemy, but they rarely really attack.

Himalayan bears and sloth bears, which often have to fight back large cats, are more likely to attack than flee. Many people think that sloth bears are more dangerous than tigers.

Literature: Mammals: The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia / Translated from English / Book. I. Carnivores, marine mammals, primates, tupai, woolly wings. / Ed. D. Macdonald. - M: "Omega", - 2007.

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We all know these powerful animals from childhood. But few people know what types of bears exist. Pictures in children's books most often introduced us to brown and polar bears. It turns out that on Earth there are several species of these animals. Let's get to know them better.

Bear appearance

If we compare bears with other predators, then they differ in the most uniform appearance, features internal structure, sizes. Currently, these are the largest representatives of terrestrial predatory animals. For example, polar bears can reach a body length of up to three meters with a weight of 750 and even 1000 kg!

Animal fur has a well-developed undercoat, it is rather rough to the touch. The hairline is high. Only he cannot boast of such a fur coat - his cover is low and rare.

The color is varied - from black to white, it can be contrasting. The color does not change with the seasons.

Lifestyle

Different types of bears live in the most different conditions. They feel great in the steppes and highlands, in forests and in the Arctic ice. In this regard, bear species differ in their diet and lifestyle. Most representatives of these predators prefer to settle in mountain or lowland forests, much less often in treeless highlands.

Bears are active mainly at night. The only exception is the polar bear - a species of animal that leads a daytime lifestyle.

Bears are omnivores. However, some species have a preference for one or another food. For example, a polar bear almost always eats the meat of mammals, for a panda there is no better delicacy than bamboo shoots. True, they supplement it with a small amount of animal food.

Variety of species

Quite often, animal lovers ask the question: “How many species of bears live on Earth?” For those who are interested in these animals, it seems that there are a myriad of them. Unfortunately, it is not. Today, our planet is inhabited by species of bears, the list of which can be presented as follows:

There are subspecies and varieties of these animals, but we will talk about this in another article.

brown bears

These are large and seemingly clumsy animals. They belong to the bear family. Body length - from 200 to 280 cm.

This is a fairly common look. lives throughout the Eurasian and North American forests. Today, this predator has completely disappeared from the territory of Japan, although in ancient times it was common here. On the territory of Western and Central Europe, a brown bear can be found quite rarely, in some mountainous areas. There is reason to believe that in these areas it is an endangered species. The brown bear is still widespread in Siberia, the Far East and northern regions our country.

Brown bears are sedentary animals. A forest area occupied by one individual can reach several hundred square kilometers. It cannot be said that bears strictly guard the borders of their territories. Each site has permanent places where the animal feeds, builds temporary shelters and dens.

Despite being sedentary, this predator can roam in search of more abundant food over a distance of more than 300 kilometers in famine years.

hibernation

Everyone knows that brown bears hibernate in winter. Previously, he carefully prepares his lair, which he equips in hard-to-reach places - on islands in the middle of swamps, in a windbreak. The bear lines the bottom of its winter dwelling with dry grass or moss.

To safely survive the winter, the bear must accumulate at least fifty kilograms of fat. To do this, he eats about 700 kilograms of berries and about 500 kilograms of pine nuts, not counting other feeds. When there is a lean year for berries, bears in the northern regions make raids on fields sown with oats, and in the south - on corn crops. Some bears attack apiaries and ruin them.

Many believe that during hibernation, animals fall into suspended animation. This is not entirely true. They sleep pretty well. During hibernation, when the animal lies motionless, its cardiac and pulmonary systems slow down their activity. The body temperature of a bear ranges from 29 to 34 degrees. Every 5-10 breaths there is a long pause, sometimes lasting up to four minutes. In this state, the fat supply is used sparingly. If during this period the bear is raised from the den, it begins to quickly lose weight and is in dire need of food. Such a bear turns into a "tramp", or, as the people call it, a connecting rod. In this state, he is very dangerous.

Depending on the climatic conditions the predator can hibernate for three to six months. If there is food in southern regions bears generally may not fall into continuous hibernation, but fall asleep only for a short time. Females with one-year-old cubs sleep in the same den.

Food

Different types of bears prefer to eat different foods. Animals of this species most often feed on fruits, berries and other plant foods, but sometimes they can eat ants, insect larvae, rodents, along with winter supplies. Quite rarely, males hunt forest ungulates. Despite the outward clumsiness, the brown bear can be very fast and agile. He stealthily sneaks up on his prey and grabs it in a quick throw. At the same time, its speed reaches 50 km / h.

White bears

IUCN - The International Union for Conservation of Nature for the first time in several years has expanded the list of animals that are on the verge of extinction. It has new species. Polar bears were brought not only to this international list, but also in the Red Book of Russia. To date, their number is only 25 thousand individuals. According to scientists, this population will decrease by almost 70% in the next 50 years.

Rare species of bears (you can see the photo in our article), which recently include white individuals, suffer from industrial pollution of their habitats, global warming and, of course, poaching.

Appearance

Many believe that white, polar, northern, sea or oshkuy are polar bear species. In fact, this is the name of one species of a predatory mammal from the bear family, the closest relative of the brown bear.

Its length is three meters, weight - about a ton. The largest animals are found off the coast, the smallest - on Svalbard.

Polar bears are distinguished from other species by their long hair and flat head. The color can be completely white or with a yellowish tint. In the summer, the fur turns yellow under the influence of sunlight. The skin of these animals is black.

The soles of the paws are reliably protected by wool so as not to slip on the ice and not to freeze.

Lifestyle and nutrition

According to scientists, the polar bear is the most predatory of the whole family. After all, he practically does not consume plant foods. Various types of bears (whose photos and names are posted in our article) almost never attack a person first. Unlike their counterparts, the polar bear often preys on people.

The main "menu" of these predators are seals, mainly ringed seals. In addition, he feeds on any animals that he manages to kill. It can be rodents, birds, walruses, whales washed ashore. For the predator itself, killer whales are dangerous, which can sometimes attack in the water.

reproduction

In October, females begin to dig a den in the snow. In mid-November, they settle there. Pregnancy lasts 230-240 days. Cubs are born at the end of the Arctic winter. For the first time, the female brings offspring when she is 4-6 years old. Cubs appear once every two or three years. There are from one to three cubs in a litter. Newborns are completely helpless, weighing about 750 grams. The babies begin to see in a month, after two months their teeth erupt, the babies begin to gradually leave the den. They do not part with a bear until a year and a half. Polar bears are infertile, so their numbers are recovering too slowly.

black bear

It is also called baribal. Its body length is 1.8 m, weight is about 150 kg. The bear has a sharp muzzle, high paws with long and sharp claws, short and smooth black hair. Sometimes the color is black-brown, except for the light yellow muzzle.

The black bear feeds exclusively on plant foods - larvae, insects, and small vertebrates.

Pregnancy of the female lasts up to 210 days, cubs are born in January-February, weighing 400 grams, stay with their mother until April.

Himalayan bear

This animal is inferior in size to the brown one. In addition, these types of bears differ in appearance. The Himalayan bear has a more slender physique, a thin muzzle. Thick and lush hair usually has a black color with a white, sometimes yellowish spot on the chest (it resembles the letter V in shape).

Large adults can reach a length of 170 cm with a weight of 140-150 kg. Habitat - East Asia. In the west, it can be found in Afghanistan, Indochina, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. On the territory of our country, it is found only in the Ussuri Territory, north of the Amur.

In spring it feeds on last year's acorns and pine nuts. In summer, it enjoys eating juicy grass, berries, and insects. There is evidence that in South Asia it often attacks domestic animals and can be dangerous to humans.

There are usually two cubs in a litter. Their weight does not exceed 400 grams. They develop very slowly, even at the age of a month and a half, they are completely helpless.

Spectacle bear

We continue to study the types of bears, getting acquainted with the native South America. He settles in the mountains - from Colombia to Northern Chile. This is a spectacled bear - an animal of not very large size. Its body, no more than 1.7 m long, weighs about 140 kg.

The bear is covered with thick, shaggy hair of black or black-brown color, with white spots around the eyes (hence its name). Preferring mountains, the animal also often appears on meadow slopes. Its biology is still poorly understood, but at the same time, scientists consider it the most herbivorous in the entire family. He is a lover of leaves and roots, fruits and branches of young shrubs. Sometimes, for his favorite delicacy, he climbs high palm trees, breaks young branches, and then eats them on the ground.

sloth bear

For our compatriots, the last animals on our list are exotic species of bears. You can see their photos and names in numerous domestic and foreign publications about animals.

The sloth bear is an inhabitant of tropical countries. He lives in the forests of Hindustan and Ceylon. In length it can be up to 1.8 m, weight is about 140 kg. This is a rather slender animal, on high legs, with huge claws. The muzzle is somewhat pointed. There is a light V-shaped mark on the chest. The bear is active at night. During the day, he sleeps soundly, while (which is typical only for this species), he snores surprisingly loudly.

Gubach feeds mainly on fruits and insects. With the help of huge claws, he easily breaks rotten, dilapidated tree trunks, and then he uses an amazing device that can resemble a pump. The long muzzle of the animal has very mobile lips, which are extended, forming a kind of tube.

The sloth has no upper pair of incisors, as a result of which there is a gap in the oral cavity. This feature allows the animal to extract termites. First, he blows out all the dust and dirt from the “house” of insects, and then draws the prey through his lips extended into a tube.

Mating sloths occurs in June, after seven months 2-3 babies appear. They spend 3 months in the shelter with their mother. At first, the father of the family takes care of his cubs, which is not typical of other bear species.

Panda

This animal, 1.2 m long and weighing up to 160 kg, lives in the mountain forests of the western provinces of China. Prefers loneliness, except during mating. It's usually spring.

Offspring appears in January. Mostly 2 cubs are born, weighing about two kilograms each. Unlike other bears, it does not hibernate. It feeds on various plants, bamboo roots, sometimes small rodents and fish.

Biruang

This is the name of the Malayan bear. This is the smallest representative of the bear family. The length of his body does not exceed 1.4 m, height is no more than 0.7 m, weight is about 65 kg. Despite its modest size, compared to its brethren, the animal is strong. Biruang has a short muzzle, wide paws with powerful curved claws. The body of the animal is covered with smooth, short, straight black hair. On the chest there is a mark of white or orange color, in the form of a horseshoe. The muzzle is orange or grey. Sometimes the legs are also light.

Biruang is a nocturnal animal, so it sleeps during the day and basks in sunshine, in the branches of trees. By the way, he perfectly climbs trees and feels completely comfortable on them.

It feeds on young shoots. The female brings two cubs. The animal does not hibernate.

Bears are the largest land predators on our planet. Currently, 9 species of bears live on earth.

The largest is the white or polar bear. In length they reach three meters, and weighing up to 1000 kg. Habitat - the Arctic and the islands of the Arctic Ocean.

The smallest is the marsupial koala bear. The size of this herbivorous bear is no more than 60 cm, and the weight is 12-13 kg. Koala is endemic to Australia, lives only on this continent.

Description of bears

Bears belong to the class of mammals, to the predatory order, to the bear family, they exist on earth for about 6 million. For most peoples, these animals have been considered a symbol of strength and power for centuries. And in our time, these far from ordinary animals deserve respect and appropriate treatment.

Outwardly, all bears look rather awkward: a large, massive body, clubfoot paws and the habit of leaning on the entire foot when walking make the bear's gait somewhat swaying from side to side. The body of bears is covered with thick hair, with color depending on the species: polar white, brown - brown, pandas - two-tone, black and white, etc. Bears with dark fur become noticeably gray with age and become almost gray in old age.

A large head, on a short powerful neck, rounded ears, and a large frightening mouth with powerful jaws, studded with large sharp teeth that can easily gnaw through any, both vegetable and meat food. With the help of its large and sharp claws, a bear can climb trees without much effort or, tearing the ground, get food from under the ground. Despite external clumsiness, if necessary, bears have a very quick reaction. The strength and especially the sharpness of the blow of the clawed paw of such a beast gives him the opportunity to deal with the enemy with one blow. In moments of danger or when attacked, a bear can run at speeds up to 50 km / h. Most bears are excellent swimmers. And at polar bear, spending a lot of time in the water, there are special membranes between the fingers that help him when swimming. This is how the American grizzly and white polar bears look like for comparison.

People often ask: does a bear have a tail? Yes, there is, but it is clearly visible only in the giant panda, in other species it is so short that it is almost indistinguishable among the fur. Another feature is that bears do not have particularly sharp eyesight, but hearing and smell are well developed. Bears often stand on their hind legs and, turning in different sides, with the help of hearing and smell, can receive information about who is out of sight. The bear can smell the smell of a person for several kilometers. The life expectancy of most bears reaches 45 years.

All bears prefer secluded places away from humans. For forest species these are dense forests with ponds and swamps, for polar bears this is the Arctic and the northern islands, for pandas these are bamboo thickets, and for koalas these are eucalyptus groves.

Depending on the species, different bears have different diets. Most bears feed mainly on plant foods, these are berries, mushrooms, nuts, and roots. If possible, do not refuse fish and small animals. Older males hunt large animals such as deer, elk, wild boar. Polar bears feed on fish, seals and other marine animals that live in the northern seas. The panda eats bamboo shoots, and the koala eats eucalyptus leaves.

Types of bears

Currently, there are 10 main types of bears in nature:

Brown, lat. Ursus. This is the most common species, forming about 20 subspecies, the so-called geographic races, which differ in both size and color. Appearance brown bear is almost typical for the whole species. Powerful body, covered with dense evenly colored hair, powerful paws with long claws up to 10 cm, massive head with rounded ears, and Round eyes. The largest brown bears are found in Kamchatka and Alaska. One of the subspecies is the famous grizzly, the largest in the Americas - up to 700 kg. with growth up to 3 meters. European brown bears are on average up to 1.2-2 meters long, up to 1 meter high at the withers, and weigh up to 400 kg. Living in Russia generally weigh about 600 kg. Males are one and a half times larger than females.

The color of brown bears differs significantly not only depending on the habitat, but often within the same region. The color ranges from light brown to almost black. Grizzlies in the Rocky Mountains have whitish hair at the ends. Himalayan bears often show a white-gray coloration, and bears in Syria are reddish-brown. Starting from spring and almost all summer, and sometimes until autumn, bears molt and throughout this period they look unkempt and shabby. But after shedding, the new coat looks brighter.

The habitat of the brown bear is very wide: It is found starting from the Far East in Russia, throughout Asia, in the forests and mountains of Europe, in Scandinavia, in England and Ireland, in North America. Most famous species brown bear is: Eurasian, Siberian, Tien Shan, Ussuri, Mexican, grizzly. One species, the so-called spectacled, is also found in South America. The nutrition of bears living on different continents corresponds to the plant and animal resources of their habitats. For the winter, brown bears hibernate, building dens for this in lowlands, ravines, among stones, or tree trunks, and strengthening all this with branches.

White or polar, lat. Ursus maritimus or in Chukchi - umka, and in Eskimo - nanuk, the largest of all. The length of his body is more than 3 meters, and the mass is about a ton. The polar bear is half land, half sea animal and therefore it looks different from its land relatives. Having lived for millions of years in the region of the Arctic Ocean, this predator has perfectly adapted to the northern cold climate. Regardless of the season, he spends most of his time in the water, which, even in severe frosts, is naturally warmer than the surrounding air. He has a more elongated body, a long neck, larger and longer, in comparison with the body, paws with webbed fingers between the fingers, like large oars. All this enhances its excellent swimming capabilities. And wool hairs are hollow tubes inside, providing high heat resistance and increasing buoyancy. The undercoat is a kind of heat insulator that helps to keep warm even at the lowest outside temperature. The coat color varies from yellowish to pure white. The soles of the paws are also covered with wool, only coarser. It allows him to move easily on the ice.

The polar bear feeds on: various fish, which are abundant in the polar seas, and marine animals, mainly seals, which have large reserves of fat, which the polar bear processes into its own fat, allowing it to live through the long polar winter.

The habitat of the polar bear is the entire Arctic northern hemisphere. Breeding places are strictly determined by the bears themselves, these are the Wrangel Islands or Franz Josef Land. For many years now, these islands have become protected areas, and on them every year she-bears make more than 200 dens, which they dig in the snow under the ice. There, she-bears take out their cubs and usually take care of them for up to two years, until they become independent.

Almost disappeared several decades ago, these, one of the most beautiful animals on earth, have now replenished their genus so much that they often cause great concern to people living in the Arctic. They unceremoniously invade villages, weather stations, geologists, oil and gas production sites, and almost any northern habitat. People, realizing the difficulties these animals face, do their best to help them, mainly with food in the winter.

Black or baribal, lat. Ursus americanus - bear North America. It lives in Alaska, Canada, most US states and Mexico. There are 16 varieties of black bear. Outwardly, he is similar to his brown relative. However, it is somewhat smaller and covered with black, sometimes with blue, fur. The size of an adult black bear rarely exceeds 2 meters and weighs 300 kg. Females are no more than one and a half meters in length. They have a peculiar pointed muzzle, rather long paws, at the end of which are short feet.

These bears are born gray or brown, and become black only around the age of three. Baribals feed mainly on plant foods: nuts, acorns, berries, rowan fruits, clover and other herbs and roots. Do not refuse insects such as: termites, ants, bees. When possible, fish and small animals are caught. Sometimes they attack livestock. Occasionally climb into apiaries, gardens, ranches. People are rarely attacked.

Himalayan or white-breasted, lat. Ursus thibetanus, much smaller than the brown one. A little over one and a half meters in length, the height at the withers is about 75-80 cm, the females are even smaller. Outwardly, he has his own differences: a more slender body, an elongated muzzle, large rounded ears. The color of the coat is shiny black, on the chest there is a white or yellowish spot shaped like a crescent. The main habitat is the Himalayas, but is found in the Far East, Altai, China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Japan, less often in Afghanistan and Iran.

In the Himalayas in the summer it climbs into the mountains to a height of up to 4000 m, in the winter it descends into the valleys. Prefers to be in trees. It feeds on plant foods: acorns, nuts, tree fruits, grass shoots and roots. If possible, it eats frogs, mollusks, and insects, does not disdain carrion. Avoids people and does not attack. For the winter, it arranges dens in the hollows of old trees and hibernates. Lives 25 years. The enemies of the Himalayan bear are brown bears and tigers.

Gubach, lat. Melursus ursinus. The bear is of medium size, the body length is about 1.8 meters, the height at the withers is up to 90 cm. The females are much smaller. Gubach has a rather massive body with a large head. Covered with black long shaggy fur, on the neck forming a kind of shaggy untidy mane. There is a spot on the chest of the sloth light color, resembling the letter V. On the paws are long curved claws, thanks to which it can climb trees quite easily.

The sloth bear, like an anteater, has adapted to feed on termites. It has an elongated muzzle with protruding lips and a long tongue, which it can use as a powerful pump. With his large curved claws, he easily breaks termite mounds, and then, folding his lips into a tube, and using his long tongue, sucks the termites and their larvae out of the fragments of the termite mound. So that termites do not climb into the nose, its nostrils can be firmly closed. Because of the appearance of its tubular muzzle, it got its name. In addition to termites, it feeds on any plants and their fruits. If possible, it can bully any animal, smaller than it in size. He has almost no rivals, except for the tiger, when faced with which he does not retreat, but enters into a fight with them and often wins. Habitat southeast Asia: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh.

Spectacled, lat. Tremarctos ornatus. Medium size, body length from 1.5 to 1.8 meters, height at the withers up to 80 cm. The muzzle is not very wide and rather short. Covered with shaggy black or black-brown hair. Its eyes are framed with light-coloured fur, forming glasses-like rings, which is how it got its name. On the neck, too, lighter wool forming a kind of collar. The spectacled bear is the only bear living in the Southern Hemisphere, namely in the countries of South America: Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

Spectacled bears live in remote areas and therefore they are little studied. It is believed that this is a herbivore, it feeds on the fruits of plants, roots, shoots of herbs and plants, termites and ants. Sometimes they raid corn crops. There is evidence that sometimes spectacled bears attack vicuñas and guanacos, and when there is a shortage of food, they also eat carrion. Cases of attack on a person are very rare, and provoked by the people themselves. Spectacled bears are active at dusk, sleep during the day. They are awake all year round, do not hibernate in winter.

Malay or biruang, lat. Helarctos malyanus. The length of the largest does not exceed one and a half meters, and the height at the withers is a little more than half a meter. An adult Malayan bear weighs about 60 kg. He has a rather stocky build, with a broad, short muzzle and small, rounded ears. Fangs are small, molars are flat, adapted for grinding plant foods. Covered with short hard wool of black, sometimes brown color. On the chest there is a V-shaped spot of golden color, strong legs with unusually large paws and curved thick claws adapted for climbing trees.

Leads a nocturnal lifestyle, sleeps during the day. In principle, biruangs are omnivores, they feed on insects, worms, fruits and shoots of plants, and roots. Easily climb palm trees, picking bananas and coconuts. Strong jaws allow them to easily crack open coconuts. They catch small rodents, lizards, birds. Do not disdain carrion. They love the honey of wild bees, which is also successfully extracted with the help of an incredibly long tongue from the hollows of trees, where the bees arrange their honeycombs. Some adapt to live near settlements, which annoys the locals. They unceremoniously come to rummage through garbage cans, attack livestock, ruin plantations with crops, as well as banana and coconut plantations. Malayan bears live in the forests of the subtropical and tropical zones, in the foothills of Southeast Asia: in Thailand, in Indonesia, in southern China. Life expectancy 20 years.

bamboo bear or giant panda, lat. Ailuropoda melanoleuca. These are very popular among all peoples of the world, cute two-colored herbivorous bears. The bamboo bear has a squat massive body, a large head with big ears and short legs with sharp claws. The fur is thick, with black and white spots. These bears are adapted to life in bamboo thickets, which serve as food for them. The inner surface of the soles of the paws is devoid of wool and this will allow them to easily handle smooth bamboo stems. Powerful jaws and flattened teeth allow, like millstones, to grind bamboo stems. Bamboo bears live only in mountainous areas China, Tibet and Sichuan in southern China.

Pandas are very rare view, consider that in wild nature there are just over 2,000 of them. The only country where pandas still live in small numbers is Japan, whose emperor, Tenji, was given them in the sixth century by the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian. Many zoos in the world want to have these exotic animals, but the Chinese do not allow the export of pandas to other countries, they consider them a national treasure. The only options are a 10-year lease of $1 million per year and guarantees that the cubs born during that time are the property of China.

marsupial bear, koala, lat. Phascolarctos cinereus. This is one of the most unusual animals. His appearance resembles that of a toy teddy bear. A rounded body covered with smoky gray fur, a large head with large ears like a Cheburashka, front paws that look like human hands and a black leathery nose, almost like a parrot's beak, make it very cute. In addition, the koala is a representative of marsupials, like most animals in Australia, the only continent in the world on which it lives.

the only food marsupial bear are eucalyptus leaves, which is why they live only in those regions of Australia where eucalyptus groves are located. With strong legs and sharp claws, the koala can easily climb trees, on which it spends almost its entire life. They rarely land on the ground. It has long been believed that koalas do not drink water at all, but this is not so, they settle near water sources and in extreme heat go to the water and drink it.

Despite the fact that eucalyptus leaves contain hydrocyanic acid, the marsupial bear has a kind of antidote. In addition, at different times of the year, koalas use different types of eucalyptus for food. Every day this bear cub eats up to one kilogram of eucalyptus leaves. The maximum height of a koala is just over half a meter, and the weight is within 10 kg. At one time, Europeans intensively hunted koalas, which led to their noticeable decrease. Now they are protected and even try to breed in captivity.

Lifestyle and habits of bears

Of all the bears, only polar bears are real predators, and in the specifics of their habitats, in the ice of the Arctic, apart from fish and animals, they simply have nothing else to eat. Although they do not refuse berries and other plant foods in the summer. The rest prefer plant foods. Siberian and Kamchatka bears are excellent anglers. They choose places on the rifts of rivers and settle there during spawning, catching nutritious red fish. Summer is an opportunity for all bears to replenish their diet with vitamins, so they can often be seen in places where berries grow, they especially love raspberries. It is in the raspberries that they most often meet with people. But if you do not show a sense of fear, it is quite possible to disperse peacefully with them, but in no case should you run away, because at these moments the hunting instinct wakes up in them, and it is not easy to run away from a bear. Be that as it may, it is better not to meet with bears, therefore, when traveling to the places where they live, it is better to find out from the locals where they were most often seen, and do not go there.

Quite often, people try to domesticate little cubs left without a mother, as they are very funny, but this does not lead to anything good. Keeping this wild beast at home, even from the very first days, is far from safe. The bear is a strong and dangerous predator, and over time, the animal instinct wakes up in it anyway. For a bear, home is natural natural conditions which cannot be replaced.

Bears are a very large group of animals inhabiting modern nature, which people for a long time destroyed, and they could completely disappear from our land. Therefore, it is necessary to do everything necessary to preserve them for the future of mankind. To this end, many countries have developed programs for the conservation of bears as a species, but the main thing is the attitude of people towards these peculiar animals, equal inhabitants of our planet.

Within the territory of Russian Federation Basically there are two types of bear representatives, these are the Brown bear and the Polar bear. Let's consider each of the types separately:

(Ursus arctos): The brown bear in Russia is still quite common in the forests of Siberia and Far East, in Kamchatka. In summer, it often enters the tundra and highlands. In Chukotka, it is often found in the tundra.
In Russia, its usual habitats are forest areas with windbreak and burnt areas with dense growth. deciduous trees, shrubs and grasses, it is also often found near meadows and fields of oats.

Appearance: It is difficult to confuse brown bears with other animals - they are all large, shaggy, clumsy build, with a large head, small ears and a short tail. The eyes glow dark red at night. The body length is up to 2 m, in Far Eastern bears - up to 2.8 m. There is a clearly visible depression between the forehead and the bridge of the nose in profile. In a standing animal, the withers are noticeably higher than the croup. The coloration is brown, rarely black or reddish, in Caucasian animals it is usually lighter. There is a light stripe on the shoulders, especially often in young and South Kuril bears. Occasionally there is also a light spot on the chest. Ears are small and rounded.

The tracks are very wide and deep, five-fingered, distinguished by long claws and clubfoot (this paw setting is more convenient for climbing trees). The length of the fingerprints on the traces of the forepaws is 2-3 times less than the length of the palm print.

Average dimensions: body length: up to 200 cm, height at the withers: up to 100 cm, weight: up to 600 kg, claw length up to 10 cm.

Behavior and lifestyle: Brown bears are more active at dusk and at night, but sometimes they also walk during the day.

Brown bears are mostly sedentary, moving along habitual paths. Bears lay them in the most convenient places, choosing the shortest distance between objects that are significant to them. Despite their sedentary lifestyle, bears make seasonal migrations to places where this moment eat food. In lean years, a bear can walk 200-300 km in search of food. For example, on the coast Pacific Ocean during the mass run of red fish, bears come from afar to the mouths of the rivers.

In winter, bears hibernate in a den. In different habitats, bears sleep from 2.5 to 6 months in winter.

From the inside, the lair is arranged very carefully - the animal lines the bottom with moss, branches with needles, bunches of dry grass. Lairs are located on small islands among moss swamps, among windbreaks or dense undergrowth. Bears arrange them under the eversion and decks, under the roots of large cedars and firs. In mountainous areas, bears settle in earthen dens, which are located in rock crevices, shallow caves, and depressions under stones.

The bears sleep alone, only the females, whose cubs appeared this year, sleep together with the cubs.

Bears sleep very sensitively, if the animal is disturbed, it easily wakes up, leaves the den and wanders around in circles for a long time before lying down again. Often, bears themselves leave their dens during prolonged thaws, returning to it at the slightest cold snap.

In summer, male bears mark the boundaries of the territory, standing on their hind legs and tearing off the bark from trees with their claws. Where there are no trees, bears tear up any suitable objects, such as clay slopes.

Food: The brown bear is an omnivore, eating both vegetable and animal foods, but strangely enough, most of its diet is plant foods.

It is most difficult for a bear to feed himself in early spring, when there is not enough plant food. At this time of the year, he sometimes hunts even large ungulates, eats carrion, digs up anthills, extracting larvae and the ants themselves.

From the beginning of the appearance of greenery and until the mass ripening of various berries, the bear spends most of its time in forest clearings and meadows, eating umbrella plants (hogweed, angelica), sow thistle, wild garlic. When the berries begin to ripen, the bears begin to eat them: first, blueberries, raspberries, blueberries, honeysuckle, later - lingonberries, cranberries.

The autumn period is the most important for preparing for winter. At this time, bears eat acorns, hazel nuts, in the taiga - pine nuts, in the southern mountain forests - wild apples, pears, cherries, mulberries. Climbing fruit-bearing trees, the bear breaks branches, eating fruits on the spot, or throws them down, and sometimes simply shakes the crown.

In early autumn, the bear loves to eat ripening oats. Less dexterous animals graze under the trees, picking up fallen fruits. The brown bear willingly digs in the ground, extracting succulent rhizomes and soil invertebrates, turns over stones, extracting and eating worms, beetles and other living creatures from under them. Bears living near the rivers of the Pacific coast during the course of red fish gather in dozens at the riffles and cleverly catch fish.

Reproduction: The breeding season for brown bears is May-June. At this time, the males are rapidly sorting out the relationship. The formed pair stays together for about a month, and if a new applicant appears, he is driven away not only by the male, but also by the female. In January, in the den, bears bring from 1 to 4 cubs, which weigh only 500 g. The cubs' eyes open after a month. After 2-3 months, the babies come out. By the time they leave the den, they weigh from 3 to 7 kg. The mother feeds the cubs for up to six months. But already at the age of 3 months, young animals begin to eat plant foods, imitating a bear. The entire first year of life, the cubs stay with their mother, spending another winter with her in the den. At the age of 3-4 years, young bears become sexually mature, but they reach full bloom only at the age of 8-10 years.

Lifespan: In nature, for about 30 years, in captivity they live up to 45-50 years.

Habitat: Each individual site occupied by one animal can be very extensive, and cover an area of ​​up to several hundred square meters. km. The boundaries of the plots are poorly marked, and in very rugged terrain they are practically absent. The areas of males and females overlap. Within the site there are places where the animal usually feeds, where it finds temporary shelters or lies in a den.

Economic value: The bear serves as an object of sport hunting. Fat and bile are used for medicinal purposes. The value of bear bile provokes poaching of bears. Bear fat, like other hibernating animals, contains a large amount of vitamins and has healing properties.

In the mythology of most peoples of Eurasia and North America, the bear serves as a link between the world of people and the world of animals. Primitive hunters considered it obligatory, having obtained a bear, to perform a rite of ritual, asking for forgiveness from the spirit of the slain. Kamlanie is still performed by the indigenous inhabitants of the deaf regions of the North and the Far East. In some places, killing a bear with firearms and is still considered a sin. The ancient ancestors of European peoples were so afraid of the bear that to pronounce its names arctos aloud (among the Aryans in V-I millennia BC, later among the Latin peoples) and the mechka (among the Slavs in the 5th-9th centuries AD) was prohibited. Nicknames were used instead: ursus among the Romans, bear among the ancient Germans, vedmid or bear among the Slavs. Over the centuries, these nicknames turned into names, which, in turn, were also banned from hunters and replaced by nicknames (for Russians - Mikhailo Ivanovich, Toptygin, Boss). In the early Christian tradition, the bear was considered the beast of Satan.

The meat of bears is almost always infected with worms, especially in old and weakened animals. Therefore, it should be eaten with great care. Of particular danger is trichinosis, which infects up to a third of brown bears. Trichins do not die when smoked, frozen or salted; meat can be reliably disinfected only by heat treatment, for example, by boiling for half an hour.

(Ursus maritimus): The polar bear is the most large predator animal world. Body length 1.6-3.3 m, weight of males 400-500 kg (sometimes up to 750), females - up to 380 kg. The bear swims and dives excellently, swims into the open sea for tens of kilometers. Moves quickly on ice. Leads a solitary lifestyle, but sometimes there are groups of 2-5 animals; several bears may gather near large carrion.

Habitats: In Russia, the polar bear constantly lives in the space from Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya to Chukotka. On floating ice it sometimes reaches Kamchatka. Distant visits deep into the mainland (up to 500 km along the Yenisei River) have been noted. The southern boundary of the habitat coincides with the edge of drifting ice. As the ice melts and breaks, the bears move to the northern boundary of the Arctic Basin. With the onset of stable ice formation, the animals begin a reverse migration to the south.

Behavior and lifestyle: Polar bears prey on pinnipeds, mainly ringed seals, bearded seals and harp seals. They come out on land in the coastal zones of the islands and the mainland, hunt walrus cubs, also eat sea debris, carrion, fish, birds and their eggs, less often - rodents, berries, mosses and lichens. Pregnant females lie in dens, which are arranged on land from October to March-April. In broods usually 1-3, more often 1-2 cubs. Until the age of two, they stay with the she-bear. The maximum lifespan of a polar bear is 25-30 years, rarely more.

The polar bear has an incomparable resistance to cold. Its thick long fur consists of hairs that are hollow in the middle and contain air. Many mammals have this protective hollow hair, an effective insulator, but those of the bear have their own characteristics. Polar bear fur retains heat so well that it cannot be detected by aerial infrared photography. Excellent thermal insulation is also provided by the subcutaneous layer of fat, which reaches 10 cm in thickness with the onset of winter. Without it, the bears would hardly be able to swim 80 km in the icy Arctic water.

In July, many of the polar bears that traveled with drifting ice move to the coasts of the continents and islands. On land, they become vegetarians. They feed on grasses, sedges, lichens, mosses and berries. When there are many berries, the bear does not consume any other food for weeks, eating them to the point that his muzzle and buttocks turn blue from blueberries. However, the longer the bears starve, forced to move to land ahead of time from melting ice as a result of warming, the more often they go in search of food to people who have been actively developing the Arctic in recent decades.

It is difficult to answer the question whether a meeting with a polar bear is dangerous for a person. Sometimes bears attacked people out of curiosity, quickly realizing that they were easy prey. But most often, tragic incidents happen on campsites, where bears are attracted by the smell of food. Usually the bear goes immediately to the smell, crushing everything in its path. The situation is complicated by the fact that the animal, in search of food, tears to pieces and tastes everything that comes across to it, including people who have turned up by chance.

It should be noted that bears, unlike wolves, tigers and other dangerous predators, mimic muscles are practically absent. They never warn of impending aggression. By the way, circus trainers claim that because of this feature, it is most dangerous to work with bears - it is almost impossible to predict what to expect from them in the next moment.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Greenpeace, they try not to kill bears wandering into the city in search of food, resorting to temporarily sleeping shots from a special gun. The sleeping animal is weighed, measured and recorded. A colored tattoo is applied to the inside of the lip - a number that remains for the whole bear's life. Females, in addition, receive a collar with a miniature radio beacon as a gift from zoologists. The euthanized bears are then transported by helicopter back to the ice so that they can continue their normal lives in natural environment a habitat. Moreover, females with cubs are transported in the first place.

Females produce offspring every three years. Thanks to natural selection the process of pregnancy surprisingly synchronized with the period of hibernation. In October or November, pregnant bears leave with sea ​​ice and head to the nearest land in search of a place for a lair where they raise their offspring during the long polar night. Having reached land, the she-bear looks for a suitable place for a long time until she chooses a depression or a cave in a snowdrift of old snow. Gradually, blizzards cover the lair and leave traces that give away its location. A few months later, tiny bear cubs no larger than a rat appear inside the snow den. Newborn bears, burrowing into their mother's fur, immediately look for nipples and begin to suck. The claws of the baby bear are curved and sharp - this helps him to hold on to the soft fur on the belly of the bear.

Meanwhile, the female is starving, and her weight drops by almost half. But she can go hunting only when her children grow up and gain strength. The cubs need time to get used to the arctic temperature after several months of living in a den warm from their mother's body. After 2-3 months, the weight of the cubs increases by 4-5 times, and the family begins to take short walks in the immediate vicinity of the dwelling. The she-bear introduces the cubs to their new environment, teaches them how to hunt and shows amazing patience with the playful games and curiosity of the cubs. The she-bear takes care of her cubs until they become independent.

Fathers, as is often the case in nature, do not take the slightest part in the fate of their offspring, shifting all the worries about the food of the cubs onto the shoulders of the she-bear. However, food is not the only problem facing a female with cubs. The real threat comes from adult males who compete with each other for possession of the female. Given the chance, a large male could easily kill her cubs. The female will then go into heat again and he can mate with her to ensure that the next generation will inherit his genes. Therefore, females are very vigilant and do not let the cubs go far from them.

The population of polar bears, which was on the verge of extinction in the 60s, thanks to the work of nature conservation societies, is gradually recovering. And now about 20,000 polar bears roam in the polar region, the true owners of snowy fields and Arctic ice.