Animal: Brown Bear

Scientific Name: Ursus Arctos

Animal Type: Mammal

Habitats: Temperate Forest and Tundra

The Brown Bear:

The brown bear is a species of bear distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere. Weighing up to 130 to 700 kg (290 to 1,500 pounds), the larger races of brown bear tie with the Polar bear as the largest land carnivores.

Physical Characteristics:

Brown bears have furry coats in shades of blond, brown, black, or a combination of those colors. The longer outer guard hairs of the brown bear are often tipped with white or silver, giving a "grizzled" appearance. They have a very short, stubby tail, just like all bears in the world. Brown bears have a large hump of muscle over their shoulders, which give strength to the forelimbs for digging.

Bears are very powerful, even if considered pound for pound; a large specimen can break a neck or spine of a fully grown buffalo with a single blow. Forearms end in massive paws with very powerful claws up to 15 cm (5.9 inches) in length. Their heads are large and round with a concave facial profile. The normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a head-and-body length of 1.7 to 2.8 m (5.6 to 9.2 feet) and a shoulder height 90 to 150 cm (35 to 59 inches), although the abnormally large specimens exceed these measurements. The smallest subspecies is the European brown bear, with mature females weighing as little as 90 kg (200 lb).

Claws are mainly used for digging. Unlike the claws of cats such as lions or tigers, brown bear claws are not retractable, giving them relatively blunt points. In spite of their size, some have been clocked at speeds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph). Along with their strength and deceptive speed, brown bears are legendary for their stamina. They are capable of running at full speed for miles at a time without stopping.

The brown bear is primarily nocturnal and, in the summer, puts on up to 180 kg (400 pounds) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Normally a solitary animal, the brown bear congregates alongside streams and rivers during the salmon spawn in the fall. In alternate years, females produce one to four young, which weigh only about 1 to 2 kg (2 to 5 lb) at birth. Raised entirely by their mother, cubs climb trees when in danger. Brown bears retrace their own tracks and walk only on rocks while being hunted to avoid being traced. Adults bears are generally immune from predatory attacks from anything other than another bear. However the Siberian tiger will prey on smaller-sized bears, and have attacked larger ones on some occasions.

Food Chain:

They are omnivores and feed on a variety of plant parts, including berries, roots, and sprouts, fungi, fish, insects, and small mammals, especially ground squirrels. Despite their reputation, most brown bears are not particularly carnivorous as they derive up to 90% of their dietary food energy from vegetable matter. Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits and it is longer and lacks strong, sharp canine teeth of true predators. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing ranges. For example, bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 in a day, and may derive up to a third of their food energy from these insects.

Brown bears also occasionally prey on deer, Red Deer, moose and Bison. When brown bears attack these animals, they tend to choose the young ones since they are much easier to catch. When hunting, the brown bear uses its sharp canine teeth for neck-biting its prey. They also feed on carrion and will drive wolves, cougars, black bears and Siberian tigers from their kills.

Habitat features:

There are about 200,000 brown bears in the world. The largest populations are in Russia, with 120,000, the United States, with 32,500, and Canada with 21,750. They are normally found in forest regions and colder tundra areas. Due to warming trends, brown bears are expanding their range in the arctic.