The bear is a familiar figure to most of us, in folklore, fairy tale or tribal religion if not in actual physical closeness. Although bears are mainly thought of in connection with North America and Russia, one species lives in the Andes and others live in Asia. The Polar bear occupies the Arctic regions and hence can be found in both Canadian and Russian territory. There are none in Africa or Australia. They were once quite common in Europe, but deforestation and human persecution caused their decline.
Bears are intelligent mammals that have a long interwoven history with the human race.
Thankfully the days when chaining bears up to dance was respectabel are now behind us, but there is still some controversy over how much bears should be allowed to assimilate into the company of humans, for example in circuses or zoos. Fortunately we are now starting to come to grips with this problem, hopefully to the benefit of both parties. The following is a guide to the eight members of this fascinating mammal family. As this is a large page we have placed a navigation link in each family box. The Giant Panda probably needs no introduction as a creature, having been made the symbol of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, although perhaps fewer people realise that it is a bear.