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

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

## Behavior

The brown bear is a territorial animal, leading solitary life. The bears usually forage in 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 social hierarchy system, based on age and size. With coming of the autumn, some individuals travel hundreds of kilometers in search of a suitable source of food.

## Diet

Brown bears are omnivores. What they eat largely depends on what kind of food is available at a particular season. Thus, in the spring they feed on grass and shoots, in the summer they eat berries and apples while 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 this time, the male competes with other males in the area, protecting the female from them. During the breeding season, which lasts from May to July, a female can mate with multiple males – behavior, that can be characterized as polygynandry. The period of gestation lasts 8 weeks, yielding 1-4 cubs. The cubs are ready to start foraging with their mother. The female breastfeed them until spring. For 2-4 years, the mother teaches the cub's survival techniques: the babies learn where to den, how to hunt, and how to defend themselves. Males don’t mate until they are able to compete with other males in the area for mating rights while females reach sexual maturity at 5-7 years old.

## Population

### Threats

The major threats include habitat loss and fragmentation through the extension of human habitat: highways and settlements together with development of agriculture bring to decrease of their habitat. In addition, due to hunting on 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 bear are threatened with adverse genetic affects. And finally, these animals are poached for their paws and gall bladders that have high commercial value.

### 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 number of population include US (33,000) and Canada (25,000).

### Ecological niche

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

## Fun Facts

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.

Females of Brown bear give birth during the winter, being asleep. Newborn cubs feed upon maternal milk and warm in fur of their mother until the 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 large brain, compared to their body size; they have 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.