Types of bears: photos and names. Types of polar bears

We all know these powerful animals from childhood. But very few people know what kinds of bears exist. Pictures in children's books most often acquainted us with brown and white bears. It turns out that on Earth there are several species of these animals. We will get to know them closer.

Appearance of a bear

If you compare bears with other predators, then they are distinguished by the most monotonous appearance, features of the internal structure, size. At present, these are the largest representatives of terrestrial predatory animals. For example, polar bears can reach body lengths up to three meters with a weight of 750 and even 1000 kg!

Animal fur has a well-developed undercoat, it is rather rough to the touch. The hairline is high. Only a Malay bear can not boast such a fur coat - it has a low and rare cover.

Color varied - from black to white, can be contrast. For the seasons, the color does not change.

Lifestyle

Different kinds of bears live in a variety of conditions. They feel great in the steppes and high mountains, in the forests and in the Arctic ice. In this regard, the types of bears vary in their dietary habits and lifestyle. Most representatives of these predators prefer to settle in mountainous or lowland forests, much less often in treeless highlands.

Bears are active mainly at night. The exception is only a polar bear - the kind of animal that leads a daily life.

Bears are omnivorous. However, some species prefer one or another food. For example, a polar bear almost always eats meat from mammals, for a panda there is no better than a delicacy than bamboo shoots. True, it is supplemented by a small amount of animal food.

Variety of species

Quite often animal lovers ask the question: "How many species of bears live on Earth?" Those who are interested in these animals seem to have a myriad of them. Unfortunately, it is not. Today our planet is inhabited by species of bears, the list of which can be represented as follows:

• Brown bears;
• Black;
• White;
• Himalayan;
• Spectacled;
• Sponges;
• Biruangs;
• Pandas.

There are subspecies and species of these animals, but we will talk about this in another article.

Brown bears

These are large and seemingly awkward animals. They belong to the order of predators, the bear family. The length of the body is from 200 to 280 cm.

This is a fairly common form. The brown bear lives throughout the Eurasian and North American forests. Today, this predator completely disappeared from the territory of Japan, although in ancient times it was widespread here. On the territory of Western and Central Europe, a brown bear can be found quite rarely, in some mountainous areas. There is reason to assert that in these territories this is an endangered species. The brown bear is still widely distributed in Siberia, the Far East and the northern regions of our country.

Brown bears - animals are sedentary. A forest area occupied by one individual can reach several hundred square kilometers. It can not be said that bears strictly guard the boundaries of their territories. On each site there are permanent places where the animal feeds, builds temporary shelters and lairs.

Despite the settled way of life, this predator can roam in hungry years in search of more abundant food for a distance of more than 300 kilometers.

Hibernation

Everyone knows that in winter the brown bear falls into a hibernation. Previously, he carefully prepares his den, which he arranges in hard-to-reach places - on islets in the middle of swamps, in a windbreak. The bottom of his winter dwelling bear lining dry grass or moss.

To safely survive the winter, the bear must accumulate at least fifty kilograms of fat. To do this, he eats about 700 kilograms of berries and about 500 kilograms of pine nuts, not counting other forages. When the year is bad for berries, bears in the northern regions make raids on the fields sown with oats, and in the south - on corn crops. Some bears attack apiaries and ruin them.

Many believe that during hibernation, animals fall into anabiosis. This is not quite true. They sleep quite sensitively. During hibernation, when the animal lies without movement, its cardiac and pulmonary systems slow down its activity. The temperature of the bear's body varies from 29 to 34 degrees. After every 5-10 breaths, there is a long pause, lasting at times, up to four minutes. In this condition, the store of fat is consumed sparingly. If, in this period, the bear is raised from the den, it begins to lose weight quickly and badly needs a feed. Such a bear turns into a "tramp", or, as the people call it, a connecting rod. In this state, he is very dangerous.

Depending on the climatic conditions, the predator may be asleep from three to six months. If there is food in the southern regions, bears generally can not fall into a continuous hibernation, and fall asleep only for a short time. Females with one-year-old cubs sleep in one lair.

Food

Different types of bears prefer to eat different foods. Animals of this species in most often eat fruits, berries and other plant foods, but sometimes they can eat ants, insect larvae, rodents, together with winter supplies. Rarely do males arrange hunting for forest ungulates. Despite the external clumsiness, a brown bear can be very quick and agile. He stealthily creeps up to his prey and grabs her in a quick roll. At the same time, its speed reaches 50 km / h.

White bears

IUCN - The International Union for Conservation of Nature for the first time in several years has expanded the list of animals that are on the verge of extinction. New species appeared in it. Polar bears were brought not only to this international list, but also to the Red Book of Russia. To date, their number is only 25 thousand individuals. According to scientists, this population in the next 50 years will be reduced by almost 70%.

Rare kinds of bears (the photo you see in our article), which recently belong to white individuals, suffer from industrial development of the Arctic, pollution of their habitats, global warming and, of course, poaching.

Appearance

Many believe that white, polar, northern, marine or oshku are species of polar bears. In fact, this is the name of one type of predatory mammal from the bear family, the nearest relative of the brown bear.

Its length is three meters, its weight is about a ton. The largest animals are found off the coast of the Bering Sea, the smallest - on Spitsbergen.

White bears from other species are distinguished by long hair and a flat head. The color can be absolutely white or with a yellowish tinge. In summer, the fur turns yellow under the influence of sunlight. The skin of these animals is black.

The soles of the paws are securely protected by wool, so as not to slip on ice and not to freeze.

Lifestyle and nutrition

According to scientists, the polar bear is the most predatory of the whole family. After all, he practically does not eat plant food. Different types of bears (photos and names of which are placed in our article) are almost never the first to attack a person. Unlike their brethren, the polar bear quite often hunts people.

Most of the "menu" of these predators are seals, mostly ringed seals. In addition, he eats any animals that he manages to kill. It can be rodents, birds, walruses, whales, thrown ashore. For the predator itself, killer whales are dangerous, which can sometimes attack the water.

Reproduction

In October, females begin to dig a dens in the snow. In the middle of November they settle there. Pregnancy lasts 230-240 days. Cubs appear at the end of the Arctic winter. For the first time the female brings offspring when she is 4-6 years old. Cubs appear once every two to three years. In the litter there are from one to three cubs. Newborns are completely helpless, weigh about 750 grams. Babies begin to see in a month, after two months they have teeth cut, the babies begin to gradually come out of the den. They do not part with the she-bear until a year and a half. Polar bears have low fertility, so their numbers are too slowly restored.

Bear black

It is also called baribal. The length of his body is 1.8 m, weight is about 150 kg. The bear has a sharp muzzle, high legs with long and sharp claws, short and smooth black hair. Sometimes the color is black and brown, except for a light yellow muzzle.

The black bear eats exclusively vegetative food - larvae, insects, and also small vertebrates.

Pregnancy of the female lasts up to 210 days, cubs are born in January-February, with a weight of 400 grams, remain with the mother until April.

Himalayan bear

This beast is smaller in size than the brown one. In addition, these types of bears differ externally. The Himalayan bear has a slimmer physique, a thin muzzle, large ears. Thick and lush wool usually has a black color with a white, sometimes yellowish patch on the chest (in shape resembling the letter V).

Large adult individuals can reach a length of 170 cm with a weight of 140-150 kg. Habitat - East Asia. In the west, it can be found in Afghanistan, in Indochina, on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. On the territory of our country is found only in the Ussuri region, north of the Amur.

In spring, the Himalayan bear feeds on last year's acorns and pine nuts. In summer, she enjoys luscious grass, berries, insects with pleasure. There is evidence that in South Asia, he often attacks pets, can be dangerous for humans.

Tedders in a litter, as a rule, two. Their weight does not exceed 400 grams. They develop very slowly, even at the age of a month and a half, completely helpless.

Bear spectacled

We continue to study types of bears, getting acquainted with the native inhabitant of South America. He settles in the mountains - from Colombia to Northern Chile. This spectacled bear is not a very large animal. His body, not more than 1.7 m long, weighs about 140 kg.

The bear is covered with thick, shaggy wool of black or black-brown color, with white spots around the eyes (hence its name). Preferring mountains, the animal also often appears on meadow slopes. His biology is still poorly understood, but at the same time, scientists consider him to be the most herbivorous in the whole family. He is fond of leaves and roots, fruits and branches of young shrubs. Sometimes for a favorite treat he climbs onto tall palms, breaks down young branches, and then eats them on the ground.

Bear-sponge

For our compatriots, the last animals on our list are exotic species of bears. Photos and names of them you can see in numerous domestic and foreign publications about animals.

Bear-sponge - the inhabitant of tropical countries. He lives in the forests of Hindustan and Ceylon. The length is up to 1.8 m, weight is about 140 kg. This is a fairly slender animal, on high legs, with huge claws. Muzzle a little pointed. On the chest is a light V-shaped mark. The bear is active at night. In the afternoon he sleeps soundly, while (which is typical only for this species), snores surprisingly loudly.

Gubach feeds mainly on fruits and insects. With the help of huge claws, he easily breaks the rotten, dilapidated tree trunks, and then he launches an amazing device that the pump can recall. The long muzzle of the animal has very flexible lips that stretch out, forming a kind of tube.

At the sponge there is no upper pair of incisors, as a result of which there is a gap in the oral cavity. This feature allows an animal to extract termites. At first he blows out all the dust and dirt from the "house" of insects, and then draws the prey through the lips extended into the tube.

Pairing sponges occurs in June, after seven months there are 2-3 kids. They spend 3 months in the shelter with their mother. At first, the father of the family takes care of his cubs, which is not the case with other bear species.

Panda

This animal, 1.2 m long and weighing up to 160 kg, lives in the mountain forests of the western provinces of China. He prefers loneliness, except for the time of mating. It's usually spring.

Offspring appear in January. Generally two cubs are born, weighing about two kilograms each. Unlike other bears, a large panda does not fall into a hibernation. It feeds on various plants, roots of bamboo, sometimes small rodents and fish.

Biruang

This is the name of the Malay Bear. This is the smallest representative of the bear family. The length of his body does not exceed 1.4 m, the growth is no more than 0.7 m, weight - about 65 kg. Despite the modest size, compared with the brethren, the animal is strong. Biruang has a short muzzle, broad paws with powerful curved claws. The animal's body is covered by a smooth, short straight hair of black color. On the chest there is a mark of white or orange color, in the form of a horseshoe. Muzzle - orange or gray. Sometimes the legs are light.

Biruang is a nocturnal animal, therefore during the daytime it sleeps, and luxuriates in the sunlight, in the branches of trees. By the way, he perfectly climbs trees and feels completely comfortable on them.

Eats young shoots. The female brings two cubs. In hibernation the animal does not fall.