"== Brown or black bear for royal hats? == 

 The black bear page says the British Army use black bear pelts for the bearskin hats of the Royal Guard, and certainly lots of other websites (PETA's, for example) suggest the black bear is used. However, the Wikipedia page on the bearskin hats states quite clearly that the hat is ""made from the fur of the Canadian brown bear and is dyed black. This is because the brown bear has thicker fuller fur"". The brown bear being a different species from the black bear with its own Wikipedia page. I am wondering if anyone can clarify exactly which species is used to make the hats and give a reliable citation for that? On the bearskins page, one of the citations given for the use of brown-bear fur links to an article in the Independent that says black bears are used. So I am confused.   

  

 Umm on the habitat the first thing about forests should be: ""They prefer forested areas with low lying vegitation and shrubs, with thick brush"" or something 
  Andrew Lilly 

  
 There was a conflict of data within the page about the weight of new born cubs.  I have resolved it from Animal Diversity Web, which is usually reliable on such matters.    

  
 Sorry if this is the wrong place, but ""Females typically weight about 40 kg"" this doesn't sound right to me. 
 :yes, it does sound a bit low, but it agrees with data from the US Fish and Wildlife service page in the External Links list   
 ::I just looked there, and it says ""from 125 to 400"" pounds, not specifically mentioning females. 40 kg would be about 85 pounds only. The us forest service external link says ""females between 150 and 400 pounds"". The bear center external link says: ""Wild females usually weigh between 90 and 300 pounds"". So, none of the three external links is anywhere near saying ""Females typically weigh about 40 kg"", note the ""typical"" in there - it's not the minimum. My suspicion is, the number was doubly converted from pounds, so 200 pounds (which seems to be a typical weight for femals, from all 3 external links) -> 90 kg and then wrongly 90 pounds -> 40kg.  15 May 2005 
 :::Looked also on Animal Diversity Web, which says females weigh between 39 and 236 kg, and males between 47 and 409 kg, so modified the page accordingly. 

 Sorry, that one was my fault; I wrote a lot of this article. Unfortunately I am terrible at using the metric system.  If there are any Canadians out there who see any inconsistencies please correct them, sadly Americans think in pounds ( 

 On an unrelated note, if anybody knows anything about the black bear in Mexico, please, write something. (Si hay alguien que sabe algo sobre el oso negro norteamericano, por favor, escriba  algo en este articulo.) 

  
 As far as bear encounters go.  After hundreds of bear encounters in the Canadian Rockies, I'm a bit leery of the advice given. 
 ""While yes - you can indeed scare a black bear off quite easily IN SOME CASES.  I have found it is best to treat all bears no differently than you would a stray german sheppard, or pit bull roaming your neighborhood.  Regardless of any situation they are indeed unpredictable. 

 The rule I have adhered to (although thankfully never having to practice it fully), after the above rule (basically giving them their space), is when you actually are under attack: 

 a. if the bear has cubs - play dead!  Regardless of species, if it has cubs it's primary concern is likely for the cubs - period!  Once it realizes you are not a threat, it will likely leave the area with it's cubs. 

 b. if it's a grizzly, play dead - you have zero chance of fighting a grizzly off regardless of the situation, so put your head between your legs and hope for the best (or kiss yer a$$ good-bye!). 

 c. if it's a black bear (no cubs) fight for your life to your last breath.  Most black bears run about the same weight as a healthy large human male (and often less).  You may prove too much of a challenge for the bear and it will leave.  DO NOT scream and yell until you are under attack.  Sometimes noise can be a trigger for bears to attack. 

 (for some reason or another they particularly seem to dislike the ""clickity click"" of cameras...go figure. 

  

 ""If you play dead grizzlies may leave you alone but black bears will begin to eat you or drag you away"" 
 This is entirely untrue.  In fact, its the opposite situation.  Black bears will think you are dead,  
 and grizzlies will definitly eat you.  Generally speaking, the bear encounters in the wild should  
 differentiate be