Bears arecarnivoranmammals of thefamilyUrsidae (/ˈɜːrsɪdiː,-daɪ/). They are classified ascaniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety ofhabitats throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, and Eurasia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair,plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.
While thepolar bear is mostlycarnivorous, and thegiant panda is mostlyherbivorous, the remaining six species areomnivorous with varying diets. With the exception ofcourting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typicallysolitary animals. They may bediurnal ornocturnal and have an excellentsense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period ofhibernation, up to 100 days.
Bears have been hunted sinceprehistoric times fortheir meat and fur; they have also been used forbear-baiting and other forms of entertainment, such as beingmade to dance. With their powerful physical presence, they play a prominent role in the arts, mythology, and other cultural aspects of various human societies. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asianbile bear market. TheIUCN lists six bear species asvulnerable orendangered, and evenleast concern species, such as thebrown bear, are at risk ofextirpation in certain countries. Thepoaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing.
Etymology
The English word "bear" comes from Old Englishbera and belongs to a family of names for the bear in Germanic languages, such as Swedishbjörn, also used as a first name. This form is conventionally said to be related to aProto-Indo-European word for "brown", so that "bear" would mean "the brown one".[1][2] However,Ringe notes that while this etymology is semantically plausible, a word meaning "brown" of this form cannot be found in Proto-Indo-European. He suggests instead that "bear" is from the Proto-Indo-European word*ǵʰwḗr- ~ *ǵʰwér "wild animal".[3] This terminology for the animal originated as ataboo avoidance term: proto-Germanic tribes replaced their original word for bear—arkto—with this euphemistic expression out of fear that speaking the animal's true name might cause it to appear.[4][5] According to authorRalph Keyes, this is the oldest knowneuphemism.[6]
Bear taxon names such as Ursidae andUrsus come from LatinUrsus/Ursa, he-bear/she-bear.[8] The female first name "Ursula", originally derived from a Christiansaint's name, means "little she-bear" (diminutive of Latinursa). In Switzerland, the male first name "Urs" is especially popular, while the name of the canton and city of Bern is by legend derived fromBär, German for bear. The Germanic nameBernard (including Bernhardt and similar forms) means "bear-brave", "bear-hardy", or "bold bear".[9][10] The Old English nameBeowulf is akenning, "bee-wolf", for bear, in turn meaning a brave warrior.[11]
The earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, includingParictis (lateEocene to early middleMiocene, 38–18 Mya) and the slightly youngerAllocyon (earlyOligocene, 34–30 Mya), both from North America. These animals looked very different from today's bears, being small andraccoon-like in overall appearance, with diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger.[12] It is unclear whether late-Eocene ursids were also present in Eurasia, although faunal exchange across theBering land bridge may have been possible during a major sea level low stand as early as the late Eocene (about 37 Mya) and continuing into the early Oligocene.[13] European genera morphologically very similar toAllocyon, and to the much younger AmericanKolponomos (about 18 Mya),[14] are known from the Oligocene, includingAmphicticeps andAmphicynodon.[13] There has been various morphological evidence linking amphicynodontines withpinnipeds, as both groups were semi-aquatic, otter-like mammals.[15][16][17] In addition to the support of the pinniped–amphicynodontine clade, other morphological and some molecular evidence supports bears being the closest living relatives to pinnipeds.[18][19][20][16][21][17]
Life restoration ofArctotherium bonariense
The raccoon-sized, dog-likeCephalogale is the oldest-known member of the subfamilyHemicyoninae, which first appeared during the middle Oligocene in Eurasia about 30 Mya.[13] The subfamily includes the younger generaPhoberocyon (20–15 Mya), andPlithocyon (15–7 Mya). ACephalogale-like species gave rise to the genusUrsavus during the early Oligocene (30–28 Mya); this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears. Species ofUrsavus subsequently entered North America, together withAmphicynodon andCephalogale, during the early Miocene (21–18 Mya). Members of the living lineages of bears diverged fromUrsavus between 15 and 20 Mya,[22][23] likely via the speciesUrsavus elmensis. Based on genetic and morphological data, the Ailuropodinae (pandas) were the first to diverge from other living bears about 19 Mya, although no fossils of this group have been found before about 11 Mya.[24][25]
The New World short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) differentiated from Ursinae following a dispersal event into North America during the mid-Miocene (about 13 Mya).[24] Theyinvaded South America (≈2.5 or 1.2 Ma) following formation of theIsthmus of Panama.[26] Their earliest fossil representative isPlionarctos in North America (c. 10–2 Ma). This genus is probably the direct ancestor to theNorth American short-faced bears (genusArctodus), theSouth American short-faced bears (Arctotherium), and the spectacled bears,Tremarctos, represented by both an extinct North American species (T. floridanus), and the lone surviving representative of the Tremarctinae, the South Americanspectacled bear (T. ornatus).[13]
Fossil of thecave bear (Ursus spelaeus), a relative of the brown bear and polar bear from thePleistoceneepoch in Europe
The subfamily Ursinae experienced a dramatic proliferation of taxa about 5.3–4.5 Mya, coincident with major environmental changes; the first members of the genusUrsus appeared around this time. Thesloth bear is a modern survivor of one of the earliest lineages to diverge during this radiation event (5.3 Mya); it took on its peculiar morphology, related to its diet of termites and ants, no later than by the early Pleistocene. By 3–4 Mya, the speciesUrsus minimus appears in the fossil record of Europe; apart from its size, it was nearly identical to today'sAsian black bear. It is likely ancestral to all bears within Ursinae, perhaps aside from the sloth bear. Two lineages evolved fromU. minimus: the black bears (including thesun bear, the Asian black bear, and theAmerican black bear); and the brown bears (which includes thepolar bear). Modernbrown bears evolved fromU. minimus viaUrsus etruscus, which itself is ancestral to the extinctPleistocenecave bear.[24] Species of Ursinae have migrated repeatedly into North America from Eurasia as early as 4 Mya during the early Pliocene.[27][28] The polar bear is the most recently evolved species and descended from a population of brown bears that became isolated in northern latitudes by glaciation 400,000 years ago.[29]
External phylogeny
The relationship of the bear family with other carnivorans is shown in the followingphylogenetic tree, which is based on themolecular phylogenetic analysis of six genes in Flynn (2005)[30] with the musteloids updated following the multigene analysis of Law et al. (2018).[31]
One possible phylogeny is based on completemitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al. (2007).[32] The polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping, while the relationships of the other species are not very well resolved.[33]
A more recent phylogeny is based on the genetic study of Kumar et al. (2017). It concludes that Ursine bears originated around five million years ago, with extensive hybridization among the different species.[34]
McLellan and colleagues (1992) classified the bears into seven subfamilies:Amphicynodontinae,Hemicyoninae,Ursavinae,Agriotheriinae,Ailuropodinae,Tremarctinae, andUrsinae.[35][36][37][38] McKenna et al. (1997) instead classified the bear species into the superfamilyUrsoidea, with Hemicyoninae and Agriotheriinae being classified in the family "Hemicyonidae".[39] Amphicynodontinae under this classification were classified as stem-pinnipeds in the superfamilyPhocoidea.[39] In the McKenna and Bell classification, both bears and pinnipeds are in a parvorder ofcarnivoran mammals known asUrsida, along with the extinct bear dogs of the familyAmphicyonidae.[39]
Wesley-Hunt and Flynn (2005) classify the family Ursidae as one of nine families in the suborderCaniformia, or "doglike" carnivorans, within theorderCarnivora. Bears' closest living relatives are thepinnipeds,canids, andmusteloids.[40] Modern bears comprise eight species in three subfamilies:Ailuropodinae (monotypic with thegiant panda),Tremarctinae (monotypic with thespectacled bear), andUrsinae (containing six species divided into one to three genera, depending on the authority). Nuclear chromosome analysis show that thekaryotype of the six ursine bears is nearly identical, each having 74chromosomes (seeUrsid hybrid), whereas the giant panda has 42 chromosomes and the spectacled bear 52. These smaller numbers can be explained by the fusing of some chromosomes, and the banding patterns on these match those of the ursine species, but differ from those of procyonids, which supports the inclusion of these two species in Ursidae rather than inProcyonidae, where they had been placed by some earlier authorities.[33]
Physical characteristics
Size
Polar bear (left) and sun bear, the largest and smallest species respectively, on average
The bear family includes the most massive extant terrestrial members of the order Carnivora.[a] The polar bear is considered to be the largest extant species,[42] with adult males weighing 350–700 kg (770–1,540 lb) and measuring 2.4–3 m (7 ft 10 in – 9 ft 10 in) in total length.[43] The smallest species is the sun bear, which ranges 25–65 kg (55–143 lb) in weight and 100–140 cm (39–55 in) in length.[44] PrehistoricNorth andSouth American short-faced bears were the largest species known to have lived. The latter estimated to have weighed 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) and stood 3.4 m (11 ft) tall.[45][46] Body weight varies throughout the year in bears of temperate and arctic climates, as they build up fat reserves in the summer and autumn and lose weight during the winter.[47]
Bears are generally bulky and robust animals with short tails. They aresexually dimorphic with regard to size, with males typically being larger.[48][49] Larger species tend to show increased levels of sexual dimorphism in comparison to smaller species.[49] Relying as they do on strength rather than speed, bears have relatively short limbs with thick bones to support their bulk. Theshoulder blades and thepelvis are correspondingly massive. The limbs are much straighter than those of thebig cats as there is no need for them to flex in the same way due to the differences in their gait. The strong forelimbs are used to catch prey, excavate dens, dig out burrowing animals, turn over rocks and logs to locate prey, and club large creatures.[47]
Unlike most other land carnivorans, bears areplantigrade. They distribute their weight toward the hind feet, which makes them look lumbering when they walk. They are capable of bursts of speed but soon tire, and as a result mostly rely on ambush rather than the chase. Bears can stand on their hind feet and sit up straight with remarkable balance. Their front paws are flexible enough to grasp fruit and leaves. Bears' non-retractable claws are used for digging, climbing, tearing, and catching prey. The claws on the front feet are larger than those on the back and may be a hindrance when climbing trees; black bears are the most arboreal of the bears, and have the shortest claws. Pandas are unique in having a bony extension on the wrist of the front feet which acts as a thumb, and is used for gripping bamboo shoots as the animals feed.[47]
Most mammals haveagouti hair, with each individual hair shaft having bands of color corresponding to two different types ofmelanin pigment. Bears however have a single type of melanin and the hairs have a single color throughout their length, apart from the tip which is sometimes a different shade. The coat consists of long guard hairs, which form a protective shaggy covering, and short dense hairs which form an insulating layer trapping air close to the skin. The shaggy coat helps maintain body heat during winter hibernation and is shed in the spring leaving a shorter summer coat. Polar bears have hollow, translucent guard hairs which gain heat from the sun and conduct it to the dark-colored skin below. They have a thick layer of blubber for extra insulation, and the soles of their feet have a dense pad of fur.[47] While bears tend to be uniform in color, some species may have markings on the chest or face and the giant panda has a bold black-and-white pelage.[50]
Bears have small rounded ears so as to minimize heat loss, but neither their hearing nor sight are particularly acute. Unlike many other carnivorans they havecolor vision, perhaps to help them distinguish ripe nuts and fruits. They are unique among carnivorans in not having touch-sensitivewhiskers on the muzzle; however, they have an excellentsense of smell, better than that of the dog, or possibly any other mammal. They use smell for signalling to each other (either to warn off rivals or detect mates) and for finding food. Smell is the principal sense used by bears to locate most of their food, and they have excellent memories which helps them to relocate places where they have found food before.[47]
Brown bear skull
The skulls of bears are massive, providing anchorage for the powerfulmasseter andtemporal jaw muscles. Thecanine teeth are large but mostly used for display, and themolar teeth flat and crushing. Unlike most other members of the Carnivora, bears have relatively undevelopedcarnassial teeth, and their teeth are adapted for a diet that includes a significant amount of vegetable matter.[47] Considerable variation occurs indental formula even within a given species. This may indicate bears are still in the process of evolving from a mainly meat-eating diet to a predominantly herbivorous one. Polar bears appear to have secondarily re-evolved carnassial-like cheek teeth, as their diets have switched back towards carnivory.[51] Sloth bears lack lower central incisors and use their protrusible lips for sucking up the termites on which they feed.[47] The general dental formula for living bears is:3.1.2–4.23.1.2–4.3.[47] The structure of thelarynx of bears appears to be the mostbasal of the caniforms.[52] They possess air pouches connected to thepharynx which mayamplify their vocalizations.[53]
Bears have a fairly simple digestive system typical for carnivorans, with a single stomach, short undifferentiated intestines and nocecum.[54][55] Even the herbivorous giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes. Its ability to digestcellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut.[56] Bears must spend much of their time feeding in order to gain enough nutrition from foliage. The panda, in particular, spends 12–15 hours a day feeding.[57]
Extant bears are found in sixty countries primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Europe. An exception is thespectacled bear; native to South America, it inhabits theAndean region.[58] Thesun bear's range extends below the equator in Southeast Asia.[59] TheAtlas bear, a subspecies of the brown bear was distributed in North Africa from Morocco to Libya, but it became extinct around the 1870s.[60]
The most widespread species is thebrown bear, which occurs from Western Europe eastwards through Asia to the western areas of North America (where it is called the grizzly bear). TheAmerican black bear is restricted to North America, and thepolar bear is restricted to the Arctic Ocean. All the remaining species of bear are Asian.[58] They occur in a range of habitats which include tropical lowland rainforest, both coniferous and broadleaf forests, prairies, steppes, montane grassland, alpine scree slopes, Arctic tundra and in the case of the polar bear,ice floes.[58][61] Bears may dig their dens in hillsides or use caves, hollow logs and dense vegetation for shelter.[61]
Brown and American black bears are generallydiurnal, meaning that they are active for the most part during the day, though they may forage substantially by night.[62] Other species may benocturnal, active at night, though female sloth bears with cubs may feed more at daytime to avoid competition from conspecifics and nocturnal predators.[63] Bears are overwhelmingly solitary and are considered to be the most asocial of all the Carnivora. The only times bears are encountered in groups are mothers with young or occasional seasonal bounties of rich food (such as salmon runs).[64][65] Fights between males can occur and older individuals may have extensive scarring, which suggests that maintaining dominance can be intense.[66] With their acute sense of smell, bears can locate carcasses from several kilometres away. They useolfaction to locate other foods, encounter mates, avoid rivals and recognize their cubs.[47]
Most bears are opportunisticomnivores and consume more plant than animal matter, and appear to have evolved from an ancestor which was a low-protein macronutrient omnivore.[67] They eat anything from leaves, roots, and berries to insects, carrion, fresh meat, and fish, and have digestive systems and teeth adapted to such a diet.[58] At the extremes are the almost entirely herbivorous giant panda and the mostly carnivorous polar bear. However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available.[57] For example, Asiatic black bears inTaiwan consume large numbers of acorns when these are most common, and switch toungulates at other times of the year.[68]
When foraging for plants, bears choose to eat them at the stage when they are at their most nutritious and digestible, typically avoiding older grasses, sedges and leaves.[55][57] Hence, in more northern temperate areas, browsing and grazing is more common early in spring and later becomes more restricted.[69] Knowing when plants are ripe for eating is a learned behavior.[57] Berries may be foraged in bushes or at the tops of trees, and bears try to maximize the number of berries consumed versus foliage.[69] In autumn, some bear species forage large amounts of naturallyfermented fruits, which affects their behavior.[70] Smaller bears climb trees to obtainmast (edible reproductive parts, such as acorns).[71] Such masts can be very important to the diets of these species, and mast failures may result in long-range movements by bears looking for alternative food sources.[72] Brown bears, with their powerful digging abilities, commonly eat roots.[69] The panda's diet is over 99% bamboo,[73] of 30 different species. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves.[74][75]Bromeliads can make up to 50% of the diet of the spectacled bear, which also has strong jaws to bite them open.[76]
Polar bear feeding on a seal on an ice floe north ofSvalbard, Norway. It is the most carnivorous species.
The sloth bear is not as specialized as polar bears and the panda, has lost several front teeth usually seen in bears, and developed a long, suctioning tongue to feed on the ants, termites, and other burrowing insects. At certain times of the year, these insects can make up 90% of their diets.[77] Some individuals become addicted to sweets in garbage inside towns where tourism-related waste is generated throughout the year.[78] Some species may raid the nests ofwasps and bees for the honey and immature insects, in spite of stinging from the adults.[79] Sun bears use their long tongues to lick up both insects and honey.[80] Fish are an important source of food for some species, and brown bears in particular gather in large numbers atsalmon runs. Typically, a bear plunges into the water and seizes a fish with its jaws or front paws. The preferred parts to eat are the brain and eggs. Small burrowing mammals likerodents may be dug out and eaten.[81][69]
The brown bear and both species of black bears sometimes take large ungulates, such as deer andbovids, mostly the young and weak.[68][82][81] These animals may be taken by a short rush and ambush, though hiding young may be sniffed out and pounced on.[69][83] The polar bear mainly preys on seals, stalking them from the ice or breaking into their dens. They primarily eat the highly digestible blubber.[84][81] Large mammalian prey is typically killed with raw strength, including bites and paw swipes, and bears do not display the specialized killing methods of felids and canids.[85] Predatory behavior in bears is typically taught to the young by the mother.[81]
Bears are prolificscavengers andkleptoparasites, stealing food caches from rodents, and carcasses from other predators.[55][86] For hibernating species, weight gain is important as it provides nourishment during winter dormancy. A brown bear can eat 41 kg (90 lb) of food and gain 2–3 kg (4.4–6.6 lb) of fat a day prior to entering its den.[87]
Bears produce a number of vocal and non-vocal sounds. Tongue-clicking, grunting or chuffing may be made in cordial situations, such as between mothers and cubs or courting couples, while moaning, huffing, snorting or blowing air is made when an individual is stressed. Barking is produced during times of alarm, excitement or to give away the animal's position. Warning sounds include jaw-clicking and lip-popping, while teeth-chatters, bellows, growls, roars and pulsing sounds are made in aggressive encounters. Cubs may squeal, bawl, bleat or scream when in distress and make motor-like humming when comfortable or nursing.[52][88][89][90][91][92]
Bears sometimes communicate with visual displays such as standing upright, which exaggerates the individual's size. The chest markings of some species may add to this intimidating display. Staring is an aggressive act and the facial markings of spectacled bears and giant pandas may help draw attention to the eyes duringagonistic encounters.[50] Individuals may approach each other by stiff-legged walking with the head lowered. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing thecanine teeth, muzzle twisting and neck stretching. A subordinate may respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down.[65][93]
Bears also communicate with their scent by urinating on[94] or rubbing against trees and other objects.[95] This is usually accompanied by clawing and biting the object. Bark may be spread around to draw attention to the marking post.[96] Pandas establish territories by marking objects with urine and a waxy substance from their anal glands.[97] Polar bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness.[98]
Reproduction and development
"Bear cub" redirects here. For the 2004 film, seeBear Cub.
The mating system of bears has variously been described as a form ofpolygyny,promiscuity andserial monogamy.[99][100][101] During the breeding season, males take notice of females in their vicinity and females become more tolerant of males. A male bear may visit a female continuously over a period of several days or weeks, depending on the species, to test her reproductive state. During this time period, males try to prevent rivals from interacting with their mate. Courtship may be brief, although in some Asian species, courting pairs may engage in wrestling, hugging, mock fighting and vocalizing.Ovulation is induced by mating, which can last up to 30 minutes depending on the species.[100]
Gestation typically lasts six to nine months, includingdelayed implantation, and litter size numbers up to four cubs.[102] Giant pandas may give birth to twins but they can only suckle one young and the other is left to die.[103] In northern living species, birth takes place during winter dormancy. Cubs are born blind and helpless with at most a thin layer of hair, relying on their mother for warmth. The milk of the female bear is rich in fat and antibodies and cubs may suckle for up to a year after they are born. By two to three months, cubs can follow their mother outside the den. They usually follow her on foot, but sloth bear cubs may ride on their mother's back.[102][61] Male bears play no role in raising young.Infanticide, where an adult male kills the cubs of another, has been recorded in polar bears, brown bears and American black bears but not in other species.[104] Males kill young to bring the female intoestrus.[105] Cubs may flee and the mother defends them even at the cost of her life.[106][107][108]
In some species, offspring may become independent around the next spring, though some may stay until the female successfully mates again. Bears reachsexual maturity shortly after they disperse; at around three to six years depending on the species. Male Alaskan brown bears and polar bears may continue to grow until they are 11 years old.[102] Lifespan may also vary between species. The brown bear can live an average of 25 years.[109]
Bears of northern regions, including theAmerican black bear and thegrizzly bear, hibernate in the winter.[110][111] During hibernation, the bear's metabolism slows down, its body temperature decreases slightly, and its heart rate slows from a normal value of 55 to just 9 beats per minute.[112] In order for their heart rate to slow down to this level during hibernation, a protein found in striated muscle, like the heart, called myosin must enter a super-relaxed state. In the super-relaxed state, the consumption of ATP is kept very low, allowing the bear to make it through the winter without losing all of its energy due to the basic functions such as pumping blood through the body.[113] Bears normally do not wake during their hibernation, and can go the entire period without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating.[47] Afecal plug is formed in the colon, and is expelled when the bear wakes in the spring.[114] If they have stored enough body fat, their muscles remain in good condition, and their protein maintenance requirements are met from recycling wasteurea.[47] While larger bears have a larger supply of body fat to keep them alive through hibernation, researchers found that smaller bears were able to hibernate longer than their larger counterparts due to them being able to sustain a lower body temperature, which translates to less energy being spent on keeping their bodies warm.[115] Female bears give birth during the hibernation period, and are roused when doing so.[111]
Mortality
Hunters with shot bear, Sweden, early 20th century. This photograph is in theNordic Museum.
Bears do not have many predators. The most important are humans, and as they started cultivating crops, they increasingly came in conflict with the bears that raided them. Since the invention of firearms, people have been able to kill bears with greater ease.[116]Felids like the tiger may also prey on bears,[117][118] particularly cubs, which may also be threatened by canids.[33][101]
Bears are parasitized by eighty species of parasites, including single-celled protozoans and gastro-intestinal worms, and nematodes and flukes in their heart, liver, lungs and bloodstream. Externally, they have ticks, fleas and lice. A study of American black bears found seventeen species of endoparasite including the protozoanSarcocystis, the parasitic wormDiphyllobothrium mansonoides, and the nematodesDirofilaria immitis,Capillaria aerophila,Physaloptera sp.,Strongyloides sp. and others. Of these,D. mansonoides and adultC. aerophila were causing pathological symptoms.[119] By contrast, polar bears have few parasites; many parasitic species need a secondary, usually terrestrial, host, and the polar bear's life style is such that few alternative hosts exist in their environment. The protozoanToxoplasma gondii has been found in polar bears, and the nematodeTrichinella nativa can cause a serious infection and decline in older polar bears.[120] Bears in North America are sometimes infected by aMorbillivirus similar to thecanine distemper virus.[121] They are susceptible toinfectious canine hepatitis (CAV-1), with free-living black bears dying rapidly of encephalitis and hepatitis.[122]
In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats[123] and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asianbile bear market, though hunting is now banned, largely replaced by farming.[124] TheIUCN lists six bear species asvulnerable;[125] even the twoleast concern species, the brown bear and the American black bear,[125] are at risk ofextirpation in certain areas. In general, these two species inhabit remote areas with little interaction with humans, and the main non-natural causes of mortality are hunting, trapping, road-kill and depredation.[126]
Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears fromhabitat destruction. Public perception of bears is often positive, as people identify with bears due to their omnivorous diets, their ability to stand on two legs, and their symbolic importance.[127] Support for bear protection is widespread, at least in more affluent societies.[128] The giant panda has become a worldwide symbol of conservation. TheSichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, which are home to around 30% of the wild panda population, gained aUNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 2006.[129] Where bears raid crops or attack livestock, they may come into conflict with humans.[130][131] In poorer rural regions, attitudes may be more shaped by the dangers posed by bears, and the economic costs they cause to farmers and ranchers.[130]
Several bear species aredangerous to humans, especially in areas where they have become used to people; elsewhere, they generally avoid humans.Injuries caused by bears are rare, but are widely reported.[132] Bears may attack humans in response to being startled, in defense of young or food, or even for predatory reasons.[133]
Entertainment, hunting, food and folk medicine
Bears in captivity have for centuries been used for entertainment. They have been trained todance,[134] and were kept forbaiting in Europe from at least the 16th century. There were five bear-baiting gardens inSouthwark, London, at that time; archaeological remains of three of these have survived.[135] Across Europe,nomadicRomani bear handlers calledUrsari lived by busking with their bears from the 12th century.[136]
Bears have been hunted for sport, food, and folk medicine. Their meat is dark and stringy, like a tough cut of beef. InCantonese cuisine, bear paws are considered a delicacy. Bear meat should be cooked thoroughly, as it can be infected with the parasiteTrichinella spiralis.[137][138]
The peoples of eastern Asia use bears' body parts and secretions (notably their gallbladders and bile) as part oftraditional Chinese medicine. More than 12,000 bears are thought to be kept on farms in China, Vietnam, and South Korea for the production of bile. Trade in bear products is prohibited underCITES, but bear bile has been detected in shampoos, wine and herbal medicines sold in Canada, the United States and Australia.[139]
Bears have been popular subjects in art, literature, folklore and mythology. The image of the mother bear was prevalent throughout societies in North America and Eurasia, based on the female's devotion and protection of her cubs.[140] In manyNative American cultures, the bear is a symbol of rebirth because of its hibernation and re-emergence.[141] A widespread belief among cultures of North America and northern Asia associated bears withshaman; this may be based on the solitary nature of both. Bears have thus been thought to predict the future and shaman were believed to have been capable of transforming into bears.[142]
There is evidence of prehistoricbear worship, though this is disputed by archaeologists.[143] It is possible that bear worship existed in early Chinese andAinu cultures.[144] The prehistoric Finns,[145] Siberian peoples[146] and more recently Koreans considered the bear as the spirit of their forefathers.[147]Artio (Dea Artio in theGallo-Roman religion) was a Celtic bear goddess. Evidence of her worship has notably been found atBern, itself named for the bear. Her name is derived from the Celtic word for "bear",artos.[148] In ancient Greece, the archaic cult ofArtemis in bear form survived into Classical times atBrauron, where young Athenian girls passed an initiation rite asarktoi "she bears".[149]
The constellations of Ursa Major andUrsa Minor, the great and little bears, are named for their supposed resemblance to bears, from the time ofPtolemy.[b][8] The nearby starArcturus means "guardian of the bear", as if it were watching the two constellations.[151] Ursa Major has been associated with a bear for as much as 13,000 years sincePaleolithic times, in the widespreadCosmic Hunt myths. These are found on both sides of theBering land bridge, which was lost to the sea some 11,000 years ago.[152]
Bears, like other animals, may symbolize nations. TheRussian Bear has been a common national personification for Russia from the 16th century onward.[163]Smokey Bear has become a part of American culture since his introduction in 1944, with his message "Only you can prevent forest fires".[164]
Juvenile pandas at theChengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
The International Association for Bear Research & Management, also known as theInternational Bear Association, and theBear Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission, a part of theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature focus on the natural history, management, and conservation of bears. Bear Trust International works for wild bears and other wildlife through four core program initiatives, namely Conservation Education, Wild Bear Research, Wild Bear Management, and Habitat Conservation.[165]
Specialty organizations for each of the eight species of bears worldwide include:
^Fortson, Benjamin W. (2011).Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. p. 31.ISBN978-1-4443-5968-8.OCLC778339290.
^McLellan, B.; Reiner, D.C. (1992). "A review of bear evolution".International Association for Bear Research and Management.9 (1):85–96.doi:10.2307/3872687.JSTOR3872687.S2CID91124592.
^Wesley-Hunt, G. D.; Flynn, J. J. (2005). "Phylogeny of the Carnivora: Basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of 'Miacoidea' relative to Carnivora".Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.3 (1):1–28.Bibcode:2005JSPal...3....1W.doi:10.1017/S1477201904001518.S2CID86755875.
^abHunt, R. M. Jr. (1998). "Ursidae". In Janis, Christine M.; Scott, Kathleen M.; Jacobs, Louis L. (eds.).Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, volume 1: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 174–195.ISBN978-0-521-35519-3.
^abcdServheen, C.; Herrero, S.; Peyton, B. (1999).Bears: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN. pp. 5–10.ISBN978-2-8317-0462-3.They are opportunistic omnivores whose diet varies from plant foliage, roots, and fruits; insect adults, larvae, and eggs; animal matter from carrion; animal matter from predation; and fish. Their dentition and digestive system reflects this varied diet.
^Mattson, David J. (1998). "Diet and Morphology of Extant and Recently Extinct Northern Bears".Ursus.10:479–496.JSTOR3873160.
^Ryan, Christopher; Pack, James C.; Igo, William K.; Billings, Anthony (2007). "Influence of mast production on black bear non-hunting mortalities in West Virginia".Ursus.18 (1):46–53.doi:10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[46:IOMPOB]2.0.CO;2.S2CID59040812.
^Sacco, T; Van Valkenburgh, B (2004). "Ecomorphological indicators of feeding behaviour in the bears (Carnivora: Ursidae)".Journal of Zoology.263 (1):41–54.doi:10.1017/S0952836904004856.
^Naughton, D. (2014).The Natural History of Canadian Mammals: Opossums and Carnivores. University of Toronto Press. pp. 218–219, 236,251–252.ISBN978-1-4426-4483-0.
^Clapham, M; Nevin, O. T.; Ramsey, A. D.; Rossell, F (2014). "Scent-marking investment and motor patterns are affected by the age and sex of wild brown bears".Animal Behaviour.94:107–116.doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.05.017.S2CID54371123.
^Nie, Y.; Swaisgood, R. R.; Zhang, Z.; Hu, Y.; Ma, Y.; Wei, F. (2012). "Giant panda scent-marking strategies in the wild: role of season, sex and marking surface".Animal Behaviour.84 (1):39–44.doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.026.S2CID53256022.
^Owen, M. A.; Swaisgood, R. R.; Slocomb, C.; Amstrup, S. C.; Durner, G. M.; Simac, K.; Pessier, A. P. (2014). "An experimental investigation of chemical communication in the polar bear".Journal of Zoology.295 (1):36–43.doi:10.1111/jzo.12181.
^Eide, S.; Miller, S."Brown Bear"(PDF). Alaska Department of Fish and Game.Archived(PDF) from the original on 2013-03-03. Retrieved14 January 2016.
^Biel, M; Gunther, K."Denning and Hibernation Behavior".Yellowstone National Park. National Park Service.Archived from the original on 2016-11-18. Retrieved18 November 2016.
^Kellert, Stephen (1994). "Public Attitudes toward Bears and Their Conservation".Bears: Their Biology and Management.9 (1):43–50.doi:10.2307/3872683.JSTOR3872683.S2CID39632061.
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