Brown Bear

## Description

The Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of Brown bears are called Grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the Polar bear (Ursus maritimus ), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The Brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries.

## Appearance

The Brown bear is a large mammal with a notable hump of muscles over its shoulders. Its legs are strong with huge paws. The claws are rather long on the front feet, allowing Brown bears to dig their dens as well as dig for food. The ears are relatively small and the face is concave while the head is large with powerful jaws. Brown bears have the ability to stand and walk on their hind legs; they do so in order to determine the location of a food source or to identify a threat. These animals have thick coats, varying in color from black to brown and blonde. The guard hair is longer, sometimes having white tips, which gives them a grizzled appearance.

## Distribution

Brown bears are found in very small numbers from North America to Western Europe, Palestine, Eastern Siberia, and the Himalayan region. The habitat of these animals is usually riparian areas. They prefer to live along rivers and streams in prairies, alpine meadows, woodlands, and forests.

## Behavior

Brown bears are territorial animals, leading solitary life. They usually forage in the mornings and evenings, resting in cover by day; however, they are active at any time of the day. They spend the winter months in dens, entering a dormant state. Brown bears are not full hibernators, so can be woken at any time. Their dens are usually caves, hollow logs, or crevices. From time to time, Brown bears congregate into large groups to feed. The groups have a social hierarchy system, based on age and size. With the coming of autumn, some individuals travel very long distances in search of a suitable source of food. In order to communicate with each other, Brown bears produce various vocalizations. Huffing occurs when they are tense while woofing is made when alarmed. Growls and roars are made in aggression. A rumbling growl can escalate into a roar when bears are charging. Their roaring is described as "thunderous" and can travel 2 km (1.2 mi). Mothers and cubs wanting physical contact will bawl, which is heard as ‘waugh!, waugh!’.

## Diet

Brown bears are omnivores. What they eat largely depends on what kind of food is available in a particular season. Thus, in the spring they feed on grass and shoots, in the summer they eat berries and apples and in the autumn they consume nuts and plums. In addition, they eat reptiles, insects, roots, and honey. Brown bears, living in the Canadian Rockies, feed upon mammals such as moose or elk whereas those in Alaska eat salmon in the summer.

## Reproduction

Brown bears are serially monogamous, living with the same mate from several days to several weeks. During the breeding season, males will try to mate with as many females as they can; usually a successful one mates with two females in a span of one to three weeks. The adult female is similarly promiscuous, mating with up to four, rarely even eight, males. During this time, the male competes with other males in the area, protecting the female from them. The breeding season lasts from May to early July. Once mated with a male in the summer, the female delays embryo implantation until hibernation. The cubs are born 8 weeks later while the mother sleeps. The average litter size is 1-3 cubs, rarely 4. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless, and hairless and may weigh from 350 to 510 g (0.77 to 1.12 lb). They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer, depending on climate conditions. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to 9 kg (15 to 20 lb) and have developed enough to follow her over long distances and begin to forage for solid food. For 2.5-4.5 years, the mother teaches the cub survival techniques: the babies learn where to den, how to hunt, and how to defend themselves. Females become reproductively mature between the age of 4 and 8 years of age, while males first mate about a year later on average when they are large and strong enough to successfully compete with other males for mating rights.

## Population

### Population threats

The major threats include habitat loss and fragmentation through the extension of human habitat: highways and settlements together with the development of agriculture bring to decrease in their habitat. In addition, due to hunting sheep and cattle, these animals have been persecuted by humans as predators of domestic livestock. Also, these bears are occasionally hunted for sport. On the other hand, some isolated populations of Brown bears are threatened with adverse genetic effects. And finally, these animals are poached for their paws and gallbladders which have high commercial value.

### Population number

The population of the Brown bear is currently stable and not endangered. In the IUCN Red List, the species is classified as Least Concern (LC). The global population is more than 200,000 individuals with about 100,000 of them living in Russia and 14,000 – in the rest of Europe. Other countries with a large populations include the US (33,000) and Canada (25,000).

### Ecological niche

On one hand, being predators, Brown bears control prey species. On the other hand, they play important role in the ecosystem, dispersing seeds and thus sustaining the environment.

## Fun Facts for Kids

Brown bears use their claws to dig comfortable caves, where they spend the winter. As they enter a dormant state, their heartbeats drop to 10 beats per minute.

Female Brown bears give birth during the winter, being asleep. Newborn cubs feed upon maternal milk and warm in the fur of their mother until spring comes, and the female wakes up to see her babies.

The Brown bear is the national animal of Finland.

The Brown bear is also a European Protected Species, having protection in the countries of the European Union.

These animals are highly intelligent: they use tools in their daily life from hunting to playing; they have a large brain, compared to their body size; they have a good memory and excellent navigation skills.

In some early civilizations, these animals were a symbol of strength, power, or love.

They are able to smell cubs, a mate, predators, or food from as far as miles away. In addition, they have excellent eyesight, which helps them identify ripe fruits.