This gives them a deceptively clumsy gait. They are actually swift and agile animals and are able to stand on their hind legs and strike out with their front paws. Most bears climb trees with ease and swim well. A bear normally has a short, thick neck, a rounded head, pointed muzzle, short ears, and small eyes. Some species have round faces.
Bears have poor eyesight, and most have only fair hearing.
Their sense of smell, however, is extremely keen. Although classified as flesh eaters, bears eat anything that is edible. Their teeth are suitable for either tearing flesh or grinding vegetables. In fact, they differ from all other carnivores in the shape of their molars, which have broad, almost flat crowns. These teeth, along with the lengthened canine teeth and reduced or absent first three premolars, indicate the bears' omnivorous, or meat and vegetable, diet.