Predatory bear family. The bear is an omnivore. What do bears do?

bears are herbivores or carnivores

1. omnivores!!
2. Browns are omnivores. Whites are predators
3. Bears are omnivores. They eat grass, berries, mushrooms, they will not refuse fish, especially meat, they put on fat - they eat everything until they are completely stupefied.
   But pandas only eat bamboo, and polar bears prefer the fat of seals and seals.
4. predators, of course
5. The bear is an omnivore like humans
6. predators, but when they are hungry they can pick raspberries and chew grass =)
7. 100% carnivores-predators, because they eat meat and hunt. Only carnivores can hunt and eat meat, first of all, and only then fish, mushrooms, nuts, honey, berries, grass, roots. But herbivores cannot eat meat.
8. omnivorous
9. omnivores
10. omnivorous
11. the bear is omnivorous. he eats almost everything he can eat. V summer period plant foods predominate, most of animal protein in the bear's diet is small animals. rodents. insects. The bear rarely engages in direct hunting, especially hunting large animals, only in the absence of more accessible and less “dangerous” food
12. Predators))
13. Differently
14. white bear, grizzly bear, spectacled bear and many other representatives of the bear family eat- wild berries, nuts, honey, rodents, carrion, large mammals, other plants. FROM THE ORDER THEY ARE PREDATORS. but the koala, which belongs to the marsupial bear family, is a herbivorous bear.
15. Bears are omnivores. In principle, they eat plant food all the time, and animal food only when it comes into their paws
16. Bears (lat. Ursidae) are a family of mammals of the order Carnivora. They differ from other representatives of canids in having a stockier physique. Bears are omnivores, climb and swim well, run fast, and can stand and walk short distances on their hind legs. They have a short tail, long and thick fur, and excellent sense of smell and hearing. They hunt in the evening or at dawn. They are usually afraid of humans, but can be dangerous in places where they are accustomed to people, especially polar bear and a grizzly bear. Immune to bee stings. In nature natural enemies almost none.
17. Anatomically they are predators. Teeth, then – s. And he cannot live on plant foods all the time. But in recent years In many regions, bears are increasingly using plant foods. In this regard, its numbers are growing; in some places there are significantly more of them than wolves. That is, he seems to be falling off the top of the food pyramid.

Brown bear, brief description which we will consider in this article, is a characteristic inhabitant of taiga-type forests. It can be found almost throughout Russia, especially in Siberia and the Far East. It is found in coniferous, deciduous, and even mixed areas different countries, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. So, meet: the owner of the Russian taiga - brown bear!

Brief description of the species

Brown or common bear is a predatory mammal representing the bear family. Currently, the brown bear is the largest land predator in the world. Its lifespan in nature is estimated at 30 years. In captivity, the predator can live up to 50 years. Linguists believe that the name of this beast is made up of two words - “knowing” and “honey”. And this is understandable: despite being a predator, the bear is big fan sweet honey and everything

Nutrition

The diet of clubfoot consists of ¾ plant foods. This various berries, nuts, acorns, rhizomes and tubers of plants. Sometimes these predators even eat grass. In lean years, brown bears, like foxes, encroach on oat crops at the stage of their milky ripeness and animal food consists of various insects, reptiles, amphibians, small rodents, fish and, of course, large ungulates. For example, it costs nothing for a clubfooted giant to kill an adult with just a blow of his powerful clawed paw. large moose!

Brief description of subspecies

The numerical difference between brown bears is so great that these animals were once classified as independent species. Currently, all brown bears are united into one single species, which combines several subspecies or geographical races. So, brown bears include:

• ordinary (Eurasian or European);
• Californian;
• Siberian;
• satin;
• Gobi;
• grizzly or Mexican;
• Tien Shan;
• Ussuri or Japanese;
• Kodiak;
• Tibetan.

Giant heavyweights

As you already understand, the brown bear, which we describe in this article, is the most common species of clubfoot all over the world. Although it is called brown, it is not always painted exactly this color. In nature you can find black, beige, yellow, and even fiery red bears. But we'll talk about the color of their fur a little later. Now we are interested in their sizes.

The sizes of these animals vary depending on their gender, age and habitat. But males anyway larger than females and weigh 30% more. Most brown bears have a height at the withers ranging from 75 to 160 centimeters. Body length generally ranges from 1.6 to 2.9 meters.

The weight of a brown bear directly depends on its habitat. One of the largest animals are bears that live on the Scandinavian Peninsula and, of course, on the territory of our country. Their weight is 350 kilograms. Their American relatives, who live in and also inhabit Canada, can sometimes weigh more than 400 kilograms of net weight. Their name is grizzly, or gray-haired.

The brown bear, whose size is considered impressive throughout the world, is also found in Kamchatka and Alaska. There, these predators weigh more than 500 kilograms. Cases of hunting brown bears are described, supposedly reaching a weight of 1 ton! However, for the most part, these furry heavyweights do not exceed 350 kilograms of net weight. The maximum recorded weight, for example, of a Kamchatka bear was 600 kilograms. The animals preserved in Europe are small in size. Their weight does not exceed 90 kilograms.

Appearance

The brown bear, the dimensions of which we discussed above, has a pronounced barrel-shaped and powerful body with high withers (height at the shoulders). This body is supported by massive and high paws with flat, clawed soles. The length of the claws of this shaggy giant ranges from 8 to 12 centimeters. These animals practically do not have a tail, since its length does not exceed 21 centimeters.

The shape of the brown bear's head is round. There are small blind eyes and small ears on it. The muzzle is elongated and the forehead is high. The owner of the Russian taiga is covered with thick and evenly colored fur. Bears, like their size, are of a variable nature. It all depends on the particular habitats of these animals. For example, famous ones may have brown fur with a silver tint. For this, by the way, they were called gray-haired.

Spreading

As mentioned earlier, bears are forest dwellers. Let us repeat that their typical habitats, for example, in Russia, are continuous forests with dense growth of grasses, shrubs and deciduous trees. The brown bear, a brief description of which we are considering in this article, is found in both tundra and high-mountain forests. In Europe, it prefers mountain forests, and, for example, in North America it can be found in alpine meadows and coastal forests.

Once upon a time, these animals inhabited the whole of Europe, including Ireland and Great Britain, and in the south globe its habitat reached the African Atlas Mountains. To the east, this species of furry heavyweights was distributed through Siberia and China to Japan. Scientists believe that in North America brown bears came from Asia about 40 thousand years ago. They are confident that these animals were able to independently cross the Bering Isthmus, settling in the west of America from Alaska to Mexico.

Winter dream

As is known, the physiological criterion of a brown bear is that these animals hibernate for the winter. They do this in October-December. They emerge from hibernation in the spring - in March. In general, the winter sleep of these furry heavyweights can last from 2 to 6 months. It all depends on the subspecies of bear and on external factors. It is curious that in the most warm regions On our planet, provided there is an abundant harvest of fruits, berries and nuts, bears do not lie down in a den at all.

Getting ready for bed

Clubfoots begin to prepare for their wintering in mid-summer. It's a brown bear! The description of his preparation for bed is probably known to many people, because there is nothing secret or surprising about it. Six months before the onset of cold weather, they need to find a suitable place for their winter shelter, equip it and, of course, increase their reserves of subcutaneous fat. Most often, bear dens are located under logs and inversions, under the roots of huge and massive trees - cedars or spruces.

Sometimes these predators dig themselves “dugouts” directly in the coastal cliffs of rivers. If during this time the bear has not found a secluded place for its winter shelter, it digs a large hole, after which it strengthens its walls with vertically protruding branches. Brown bears use them to block the entrance hole, simultaneously camouflaging themselves and isolating themselves from outside world for several months. Immediately before going to bed, an animal that has gained a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat carefully confuses its traces of being near the den.

It is worth noting that the most solid and practical bear dwellings are considered to be unpaved dens. If the predator is lucky, it will lie in the ground for the whole winter. Such dens are located deep underground and keep the clubfoot warm. Near the entrance to the soil den you can find various trees and shrubs covered with yellowish frost. Experienced hunters know that the hot breath of a clubfoot gives the frost its color.

Hibernation

In most cases, adult animals while away the cold winter days in their dens alone. Only a female bear can hibernate with last year’s cubs. Scientists who observed the life of these predators (see photo of a brown bear and a description of its lifestyle) noticed that in certain areas of the globe, where there are no particularly suitable places for wintering, bears use the same shelters several times.

In some areas, dens can generally be located in close proximity to each other, resulting in something like a bear “apartment” building. If the choice of “winter apartments” is very difficult, some especially arrogant bears encroach on other people’s homes. For example, an adult male brown bear can, without any pity, expel a weaker relative from a den he likes.

Brown bears sleep curled up. Their hind legs they are pressed to the belly, and the front ones cover the muzzle. By the way, it was this fact that gave rise to many tales and sayings that bears suck their paws in winter. This is not entirely true. Clubfoot animals, of course, can lick their front paws from time to time, while in one phase or another of sleep, but this has absolutely nothing to do with their sucking.

Be careful, connecting rod!

Scientists say that bears' sleep cannot be called sound. During short-term thaws, these predators can awaken and even leave their winter shelters for a while. At this time, clubfooted people walk around winter forest, knead their bones. As soon as it gets colder again, the furry heavyweights return to their shelter, covering up the traces of their stay outside the den. However, such habits of a brown bear are just flowers!

It also happens that some bears, due to malnutrition in the autumn-winter period, cannot gain the required weight, find and arrange their home. In this case, they do not lie in the den at all. Not having time to accumulate the reserves of subcutaneous fat necessary for a comfortable winter, the animal simply staggers around. snowy forest as if restless. People called such poor fellows “connecting rods.” The connecting rod bear is a very dangerous and extremely aggressive animal! At this time, it is better not to mess with him at all, since the beast is very hungry, incredibly angry and attacks almost everything that moves.

Reproduction

Female brown bears give birth 2 to 4 times a year. Their mating season usually falls in May, June and July. At this time, the males behave aggressively: they begin to roar loudly, serious fights arise between them, sometimes ending in the death of one of the bears. Pregnancy in females lasts from 190 to 200 days. At one time they can bring up to 5 cubs with a body weight of up to 600 grams and a length of up to 23 centimeters.

Offspring

The young are born blind, with overgrown ear canals and covered with short, sparse hair. After two weeks, the cubs begin to hear, and after a month - to see. Within 90 days after birth, all of their baby teeth grow in and they begin to eat berries, plants and insects. As a rule, male brown bears do not raise offspring; raising young animals is the prerogative of females. Bear cubs become sexually mature by the age of 3, but continue to grow until they are 10 years old.

Brown bear. Red Book

Unfortunately, this one is listed in the Red Book as an endangered animal. Currently, in many areas and regions of the globe, hunting of brown bears is limited or completely prohibited. Nevertheless, poaching has not been canceled. Bearskin mainly used for carpets and the meat for cooking. Such an important commercial animal is this brown bear! The Red Book, in which this species of large predators was once included, has not currently been reprinted. It is possible that data on the number of bears as of this year will change dramatically for the worse.

The brown or common bear is a predatory mammal from the bear family. This is one of the largest and dangerous species terrestrial 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 middle lane 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. Brown color is considered standard.

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

IN natural conditions The average lifespan 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 medium length body 185-215 cm and body weight 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 large sizes skulls. 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. 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, average weight whose body 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

Area natural spread brown bears have 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 predators are recorded only in the western part of Canada, as well as in Alaska and forest areas 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. Characteristic is poor vision. 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 period becomes 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 to three months, after which they develop milk teeth and become able to independently feed on berries, vegetation and insects. However, on breastfeeding cubs stay 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 brown bear's sleep is completely different from the period of hibernation characteristic of other mammal species. During hibernation, the brown bear's body temperature, respiratory 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 warm and little snowy winters, if available large quantity food, some males do not hibernate. Sleep comes only when 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.

Getting ready for bed

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 they try to arrange for themselves and their offspring a deeper and more spacious, warm den, 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 company can be joined by bear cubs of the 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 are able to 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 fattening food base, gender, age parameters and even the physiological state of the animal.

This is interesting! Old and fat wild beast goes to hibernate much earlier, even before significant snow cover falls, and young and insufficiently fed individuals lie down in the 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 for the northern regions, characterized by harsh winters, including territory 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.

Bears or bears (lat. Ursidae) are a family that includes mammals from the order of predatory animals. The difference between all bears and other canine-like animals is their stockier and well-developed physique.

Description of the bear

All mammals from the order Carnivora originate from a group of marten-like primitive predators known as miacidae, which lived in the Paleocene and Eocene. All bears belong to the fairly numerous suborder Caniformia. Everything is supposed to be fine famous representatives of this suborder descended from one dog-like ancestor, common to all species of such animals.

Relative to other families from the order of predatory animals, bears are animals with the greatest uniformity in appearance, size, and are also similar in many features in internal structure. All bears are among the most major representatives terrestrial modern predatory animals. Adult body length polar bear reaches three meters with a mass ranging from 720-890 kg, and the Malayan bear is one of the most small representatives family, and its length does not exceed one and a half meters with a body weight of 27-65 kg.

Appearance, colors

Male bears are approximately 10-20% larger than females, and in a polar bear such figures can be even 150% or more. The animal's fur has a developed and fairly coarse undercoat. The tall, sometimes shaggy type of hair in most species has a pronounced density, and the fur of the Malayan bear is low and quite sparse.

The fur color is uniform, from coal-black to whitish. The exception is, which has a characteristic contrast black and white color. In the area chest or there may be light marks around the eyes. Some species are characterized by individual and so-called geographical variability in fur color. Bears exhibit marked seasonal dimorphism, expressed by changes in height and density of fur.

All representatives of the Bear family are distinguished by their stocky and powerful bodies, often with fairly high and pronounced withers. Also characteristic are strong and well-developed, five-fingered paws with large, non-retractable claws. The claws are controlled by powerful muscles, thanks to which animals climb trees, dig the ground, and also easily tear apart prey. The length of grizzly claws reaches 13-15 cm. Gait beast of prey plantigrade type, characteristically shuffling. The giant panda has a sixth additional “finger” on its front paws, which is an outgrowth of the sesamoid radius bone.

The tail part is very short, almost invisible under the fur covering. The exception is giant panda, having a fairly long and clearly visible tail. Any bear has relatively small eyes, a large head located on a thick and, as a rule, short neck. The skull is large, most often with an elongated facial part and highly developed ridges.

This is interesting! Bears have a strong developed sense of smell, and in some species it is quite comparable to a dog’s sense of smell, but the vision and hearing of such numerous and large predators are an order of magnitude weaker.

The zygomatic arches are most often slightly spaced in different directions, and the jaws are powerful, providing very high levels of bite force. All representatives of the Bear family are characterized by the presence of large fangs and incisors, and the remaining teeth may be partially reduced, but their appearance and structure most often depend on the type of food. Total quantity teeth can vary between 32-42 pieces. The presence of individual or age-related variability in the dental system is often observed.

Character and lifestyle

Bears – typical predators, leading a solitary lifestyle, so such animals prefer to meet each other solely for the purpose of mating. Males tend to behave aggressively and are capable of killing cubs that are in for a long time near the female. Representatives of the Bear family are distinguished by their good adaptability to a variety of living conditions, therefore they are able to inhabit high mountain areas, forest zones, arctic ice and steppe, and the main differences lie in the way of nutrition and lifestyle.

A significant portion of bear species live in lowland and mountain forest zones of temperate or tropical latitudes. The predator is somewhat less common in high mountain areas without dense vegetation. Some species are characterized by a clear affinity to the aquatic environment, including mountain or forest streams, rivers and sea coasts. The Arctic, as well as vast expanses

This is interesting! Arctic Ocean – natural environment habitat of polar bears, and the lifestyle of an ordinary brown bear is associated with subtropical forests, taiga, steppes and tundra, desert areas.

Most bears fall into the category of terrestrial carnivores, but polar bears are semi-aquatic members of the family. Malayan bears are typical adherents of a semi-arboreal lifestyle, therefore they are able to climb trees perfectly and create a shelter for themselves or the so-called “nest”. Some species of bears choose holes near the root system of trees and crevices of sufficient size as their habitat.

As a rule, representatives of the Bear family and the Carnivora order are nocturnal, so they rarely go out hunting in the daytime. However, polar bears may be considered an exception to such general rules. Predatory mammals leading a solitary lifestyle unite during the “ mating games"and mating, as well as for raising their offspring. Among other things, groups of such animals are observed at common watering places and traditional feeding areas.

How long do bears live?

The average life expectancy of bears in nature can vary depending on the species characteristics of this carnivorous mammal:

• Spectacled bears – two decades;
• Apennine brown bears - up to twenty years;
• Tien Shan brown bears - up to twenty years or a quarter of a century;
• Polar polar bears - just over a quarter of a century;
• Gubachi - just under twenty years old.

In captivity, the average life expectancy of a predatory mammal, as a rule, is noticeably longer. For example, brown bears can live in captivity for more than 40-45 years.

Types of bears

Area, distribution

Spectacled bears are the only representatives of the Bear family that inhabit South America, where the predator prefers the mountain forests of Venezuela and Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, as well as Bolivia and Panama. - inhabitant of the Lena, Kolyma and Anadyr river basins, most of Eastern Siberia and Stanovoy Range, Northern Mongolia, some regions of China and the border territory of Eastern Kazakhstan.

Grizzlies are found primarily in western Canada and Alaska, with a small number remaining in continental America, including Montana and northwestern Washington. Tien Shan brown bears are found on the Tien Shan ridges, as well as in the Dzungarian Alatau, which has peripheral mountain ranges, and Mazalai are found in the desert mountains of Tsagan-Bogdo and Atas-Bogdo, where sparse bushes and drainage dry riverbeds are located.

Polar bears are distributed circumpolarly, and live in the circumpolar regions in the northern hemisphere of our planet. White-breasted Himalayan bears prefer hilly and mountain forests of Iran and Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Himalayas, all the way to Japan and Korea. Representatives of the species in the Himalayas in summer rise to a height of three and even four thousand meters, and with the onset of cold weather they descend to the mountain foot.

Sponge whales live mainly in the tropics and subtropical forests India and Pakistan, in Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as in Bangladesh and Bhutan. Biruangs are distributed from the northeastern part of India to Indonesia, including Sumatra and Kalimantan, and the subspecies Helarctos malayanus euryspilus inhabits the island of Borneo.

Bears in the planet's ecosystem

All representatives of the Bear family, due to their diet and impressive size, have a very noticeable impact on the fauna and flora in their habitats. Species Polar and brown bear are involved in regulation total number ungulates and other animals.

All herbivorous bear species contribute to the active distribution of seeds of many plants. Polar bears are often accompanied by Arctic foxes, which eat their prey.

Bear diet

Spectacled bears are the most herbivorous in the family, and their main diet includes grassy shoots, fruits and rhizomes of plants, corn crops, and sometimes insects in the form of ants or termites. An important role in the diet of the Siberian bear is played by fish, and Kodiaks are omnivores, feeding on both herbaceous plants, berries and roots, and meat foods, including fish and all kinds of carrion.

Pika-eating bears or Tibetan brown bears feed mainly on herbaceous plants, as well as pikas, which is how they got their name. The main prey of polar bears is the ringed seal, sea ​​hare, walruses and many other marine animals. The predator does not disdain carrion and feeds willingly dead fish, eggs and chicks, can eat grass and all kinds of seaweed, and in inhabited areas it looks for food in numerous garbage dumps.

The diet of white-breasted or Himalayan bears is 80-85% represented by food plant origin, but the predator is capable of using ants and other insects as food, as well as highly nutritious shellfish and even frogs. Sloth bears, like , are adapted to eating primarily colonial insects, including termites and ants. All biruangs are omnivorous, but primarily feed on insects, including bees and termites, as well as fruits and shoots. earthworms and plant rhizomes.

• Class: Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 = Mammals
• Infraclass: Eutheria, Placentalia Gill, 1872 = Placental, higher animals
• Squad:
• Family: Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 = Carnivores
• Family: Ursidae Gray, 1825 = Ursidae, bears
• Genus: Ursus Linnaeus, 1758 = Bears

Is the bear a predator?

Basically, bears are content with plant food, but if there is a shortage of it and once they have tasted animal meat, they become a predator in the full sense of the word, especially terrible for domestic animals. He is quite considered the worst enemy of horses, cows, etc.

Having tasted the meat, the bear loses its good-natured disposition and becomes very bloodthirsty. Many hunters say that the bear also feeds on carrion. At least in Siberia, it often happens that during livestock deaths, peasants bury their dead animals, and bears dig them up to satisfy their hunger. Having fattened up their body and fat throughout the summer and autumn, with the approach of winter the bears prepare a den for themselves in some cave, or in the hollows of trees, or in the thicket of the forest.

Before lying down in the den, the bear confuses its tracks like a hare, meanders through the brown, mossy swamps, through the water, jumps sideways from the trail through fallen trees, in a word, it goes back and forth more than once. Only then will he lie down, reassured that the trail is well entangled.

If the summer was poor in food, then some, especially thin, bears do not lie in the den at all; they wander around hungry all winter. These connecting rods, as they are called, are “suicide bombers”; they will die before spring. Connecting rods are dangerous to humans, cattle and any animal - even to a bear sleeping in a den. There was a case: a small connecting rod bear dug up the den of a bear that was healthier than him, bitten and ate the sleepy Toptygin. Some bears, in places where it is not very cold, lie down for the winter right among young spruce trees, just bending their tops above them - it turns out something like a hut, and they sleep in it. But where the winter is cold, they dig a hole for a den somewhere near the water, in a swamp, under the root of a fallen tree. Others cover the pit with brushwood, branches, and moss. Such a den is said to have a “sky,” that is, a roof. A den’s “brow” is a hole in a den—an outlet.

They say about a bear that it sucks its paw in winter. Maybe some people suck because they think that the soles of their soles shed and itch. But, says A. Cherkasov, he has never heard of bears being caught in dens with sucked paws: they are all dry, dirty since the fall, covered in dust and with dried mud.

The further east the bears live, the larger they are. In the Old World the most big bears- Kamchatka. In Alaska and some islands close to it, even larger specimens are found. This is the brown bear Kadlyak - the heavyweight champion among all predators on Earth (weighing up to 751 kg). When this animal stands, leaning on all four legs, its height at the withers is up to 130 cm (for a European bear, on average, 1 m).

The she-bear retires to her den already at the beginning of November, while bears roam as early as December, despite the snow and frost. And some old animals lead a wandering life all winter. Even bears that retire to a den do not always fall into continuous hibernation, only those that are heavily overfed and fat sleep motionless, while the rest lie very sensitively and stick their heads out of the den, or “greet” - as the hunters say - at every approach of a person; and she-bears sometimes directly rush at the violator of their peace. Feeling the smell of spring, they get out of the den and into the light.

Having become hungry during the winter, it goes out to get food. But first he takes a laxative - in the form of cranberries and moss, of which he eats enormous quantities. Having cleared his stomach, he hurries to strengthen his body, weakened hibernation. During this rather hungry time, it can attack livestock.