Brown Bear

The Brown Bear is an animal found naturally in parts of Wraimall, especially in the north.

## Background

### Relationship with humans

Brown Bears have been present in the world since creation, along with their smaller cousins, Black Bears. In that time, they have grown to be a source of fear for humans and monsters alike living in isolated areas. These mighty, lumbering beasts typically didn't seek out humans to hunt, but would waste no time in attacking them if encountered in the wild. When human settlements would expand further into the wilderness, Brown Bears would not be frightened away. It would be up to the men to hunt and drive away Brown Bears to make their new territory safe; otherwise, Brown Bears would begin to see the new mannish villages and towns as reliable sources of food, with many documented cases detailing how individual bears would prey on the same places until they were killed.

In the Guilron Empire, Brown Bears were among the ferocious animals used for sport in fighting arenas, with the strongest ones supposedly coming from the Dungrene Mountains. This served as a point of contention between the Guilron Empire and Kelemere, as Kelemere held the rights to letting anyone into the mountains, and it was always strictly for religious purposes. Some Brown Bears were even sent south to the continent of Suzapan where there was a greater culture of blood sports.

Following the Curse and subsequent fall in human population, the Brown Bears have spread, reclaiming much of their old territory and beyond. They regularly compete with Wargs for food, and have been known to terrorize the Goblins of Fanemire and the Vampires of Guiles. The dense forests of Guiles make an ideal habitat for the Brown Bear, as well as the Chantilly Forest in Fanemire. Bears living in the highland moors of Fanemire have been shown to have different adaptations than their forest-dwelling brethren, including longer claws for gripping rocks, and a lower posture for stalking. Brown Bears also live in the Marlow Mountains, Dungrene Mountains, and Ofhende Hills, where they prey mostly on ibex and elk. In the Marlow and Dungrene Mountains they compete with Saber-Toothed Tigers for food. The only countries where they are absent are Kelemere, Olbrecht, and Holominea. In Kelemere they have been successfully extirpated, and Olbrecht and Holominea are much too inhospitable for them to inhabit.

### Description and abilities

As its name suggests, the Brown Bear has brown fur, which ranges from yellowish-brown to dark brown, red-brown, and almost black in some cases; albinism has also been recorded. The fur is dense to varying degrees and the hair can grow up to 4" in length. The head normally is quite round and has relatively small rounded ears, a wide skull, and a mouth equipped with 42 teeth, including predatory teeth. It has a powerful bone structure and large paws equipped with claws that can grow up to 3" in length. The weight varies depending on habitat and the time of the year. A full-grown male weighs on average between 550 and 660 lbs, and reaches a maximum weight of 1,060 lbs and length of nearly 8'. Females typically fall in around 550 lbs. They have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years. The hide of the Brown Bear is thick and tough, making it hard to penetrate with sharp tools. The ideal weapon often used against them are polearms of various types for the ability to keep a good distance between the hunter and bear. Ranged weapons are not ideal, as arrows often fail to penetrate their tough hides.

### Biology

The brown bear is often described as nocturnal. However, it frequently seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours. Yearling and newly independent bears are more likely to be active diurnally and many adult bears in low-disturbance areas are largely crepuscular. In summer through autumn, a brown bear can double its weight from the spring, gaining up to 400 lbs of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not full hibernators and can be woken easily, they like to den in a protected spot during the winter months. Hibernation dens may consist of any spot that provides cover from the elements and that can accommodate their bodies, such as a cave, crevice, cavernous tree roots, or hollow logs. Brown Bears are mostly solitary, although bears may gather in large numbers at major food sources and form social hierarchies based on age and size. Adult male bears are particularly aggressive and are avoided by adolescent and subadult males, both at concentrated feeding opportunities and chance encounters. Female bears with cubs rival adult males in aggression and are much more intolerant of other bears than single females. Young adolescent males tend to be least aggressive and have been observed in nonantagonistic interactions with each other. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing off canines, muzzle twisting and neck stretching to which a subordinate will respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down. During combat, bears use their paws to strike their opponents in the chest or shoulders and deliver devastating bites to the head or neck. A bear can brush the skull of a man in their jaws if they are so inclined.

### Communication

Several different facial expressions have been documented in brown bears. The "relaxed-face" is made in everyday activities and has the ears pointed to the sides and the mouth closed or slackly open. During social play, bears make "relaxed open-mouth face" in which the mouth is open, with a curled upper lip and hanging lower lip, and the ears alert and shifting. When looking at another animal at a distance, the bear makes an "alert face" as the ears are cocked and alert, the eyes wide open but the mouth is closed or only open slightly. The "tense closed mouth face" is made with the ears laid back and the mouth closed and occurs when the bear feels threatened. When approached by another individual, the animal makes a "puckered-lip face" with a protruding upper lip and ears which go from cocked and alert when at a certain distance to laid back when closer or when retreating. The "jaw gape face" consists of an open mouth with visible lower canines and hanging lips while the "biting face" is similar to the "relaxed open-mouth face" except the ears are flattened and the eyes are wide enough to expose the sclera. Both the "jaw gape face" and the "biting face" are made in aggression and bears switch between them.

Brown bears also produce various vocalizations. Huffing occurs when the animal is tense while woofing is made when alarmed. Both sounds are produced by exhalations though huffing is harsher and is made continuously. Growls and roars are made in aggression. Growling is harsh and guttural. A rumbling growl can escalate into a roar when the bear is charging. Roaring is described as "thunderous" and can travel 1.2 mi. Mothers and cubs wanting physical contact will bawl

### Dietary habits

Despite its reputation for relentless aggression and killing, Brown Bears are omnivorous. They are hardly picky, and throughout life, this species is regularly curious about the potential of eating virtually any organism or object that they encounter. Food that is both abundant and easily accessed or caught is preferred, leading to their famous predation on mannish settlements. Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity.

Brown Bears often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns and pine cones, as well as fungi such as mushrooms. Among all bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods such as roots, bulbs and shoots. They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach the roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them. In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, sedges, moss and forbs are the dietary mainstays for brown bears internationally. Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some inland bear populations if fruit or honey is not abundant. Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and clams. Other animals hunted by Brown Bears include marmots, ground squirrels, mice, voles, rats, lemmings, foxes, elk, mouse, reindeer, muskoxen, ibex, and boars.

### Interspecific predatory relationships

Brown Bears regularly intimidate Saber-Toothed Tigers and Wargs to drive them away from their kills, and will occasionally fight them for the food. Despite the high animosity between the species, most confrontations at kill sites or large carcasses end without bloodshed on either side. Though conflict over carcasses is common, on rare occasions, the predators tolerate each other on the same kill. There are few cases of fully-grown Saber-Toothed Tigers or Wargs being killed by Brown Bears. Given the opportunity, however, both species will prey on the other's cubs. The individual power of the bear against the collective strength of the Warg pack usually results in a long battle for kills or domination. Brown Bears are much more likely to engage in combat with Saber-Toothed Tigers as they see them as a single threat rather than a group. The Tigers will more often than not flee if they believe the bear they are facing to be too significant of a threat, though starved ones will almost always stay and fight.