How long does a bear live? How long do bears live?

The bear is the most large predator on the ground. This animal belongs to the class mammals, order carnivores, family bears, genus bears (lat. Ursus). The bear appeared on the planet about 6 million years ago and has always been a symbol of power and strength.

Bear - description, characteristics, structure. What does a bear look like?

Depending on the species, the body length of a predator can vary from 1.2 to 3 meters, and the weight of a bear varies from 40 kg to a ton. The body of these animals is large, stocky, with a thick, short neck and big head. Powerful jaws make it easy to chew through both plant and meat food. The limbs are rather short and slightly curved. Therefore, the bear walks, swaying from side to side, and rests on its entire foot. The speed of a bear in moments of danger can reach 50 km/h. With the help of large and sharp claws, these animals extract food from the ground, tear apart prey and climb trees. Many species of bears are good swimmers. The polar bear has a special membrane between its toes for this purpose. The lifespan of a bear can reach 45 years.

Bears do not have sharp eyesight or well-developed hearing. This is compensated by an excellent sense of smell. Sometimes animals stand on their hind legs to use their sense of smell to obtain information about their surroundings.

Thick bear fur covering the body has a different color: from reddish-brown to black, white in polar bears or black and white in pandas. Species with dark fur turn gray and gray in old age.

Does a bear have a tail?

Yes, but only giant panda is the owner of a noticeable tail. In other species it is short and almost indistinguishable in the fur.

Types of bears, names and photos.

In the bear family, zoologists distinguish 8 species of bears, which are divided into many different subspecies:

Brown bear (common bear) (lat. Ursus arctos). The appearance of a predator of this species is typical for all representatives of the bear family: a powerful body, rather high at the withers, a massive head with rather small ears and eyes, a short, barely noticeable tail, and large paws with very powerful claws. The body of a brown bear is covered with thick fur with brownish, dark gray, and reddish colors, which vary depending on the habitat of the “clubfoot”. Baby bear cubs often have large light tan marks on the chest or neck area, although these marks disappear with age.

The distribution range of the brown bear is wide: it is found in mountain systems Alps and on the Apennine Peninsula, common in Finland and the Carpathians, feels comfortable in Scandinavia, Asia, China, the northwestern United States and Russian forests.

Polar (white) bear (lat. Ursus maritimus). It is the largest representative of the family: its body length often reaches 3 meters, and its weight can exceed one ton. U long neck and a slightly flattened head - this distinguishes it from its counterparts of other species. The color of the bear’s fur is from boiling white to slightly yellowish; the hairs are hollow inside, so they give the bear’s “fur coat” excellent thermal insulation properties. The soles of the paws are thickly lined with tufts of coarse hair, which allows the polar bear to easily move across the ice without slipping. There is a membrane between the toes that facilitates the swimming process. The habitat of this bear species is the circumpolar regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Baribal (black bear) (lat. Ursus americanus). The bear is a little similar to its brown relative, but differs from it in its smaller size and blue-black fur. The length of an adult baribal does not exceed two meters, and female bears are even smaller - their body is usually 1.5 meters long. A pointed muzzle, long paws ending in rather short feet - this is what makes this representative of bears remarkable. By the way, baribals can become black only in the third year of life, receiving a gray or brownish color at birth. The black bear's habitat is vast: from the vastness of Alaska to the territories of Canada and hot Mexico.

Malayan bear (biruang)(lat. Helarctos malayanus). The most “miniature” species among its bear counterparts: its length does not exceed 1.3-1.5 meters, and the height at the withers is slightly more than half a meter. This type of bear has a stocky build, a short, rather wide muzzle with small round ears. The paws of the Malayan bear are high, while the large, long feet with huge claws look a little disproportionate. The body is covered with short and very tough black-brown fur; the animal’s chest is “decorated” with a white-red spot. The Malayan bear lives in southern regions China, Thailand and Indonesia.

White-breasted (Himalayan) bear(lat. Ursus thibetanus). The slender physique of the Himalayan bear is not very large in size - this representative of the family is twice as small as its brown relative: the male has a length of 1.5-1.7 meters, while the height at the withers is only 75-80 cm, females are even smaller. The bear's body, covered with shiny and silky fur of dark brown or black color, is crowned by a head with a pointed muzzle and large round ears. A mandatory “attribute” of the Himalayan bear’s appearance is a spectacular white or yellowish spot on the chest. This species of bear lives in Iran and Afghanistan, and is found in mountainous areas The Himalayas, on the territory of Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan, feel at ease in the vastness Khabarovsk Territory and in the south of Yakutia.

Spectacled bear (lat. Tremarctos ornatus). A medium-sized predator - length 1.5-1.8 meters, height at the withers from 70 to 80 cm. The muzzle is short, not too wide. The fur of the spectacled bear is shaggy, has a black or black-brown tint, and there are always white-yellow rings around the eyes, smoothly turning into a whitish “collar” of fur on the animal’s neck. The habitat of this type of bear is the country South America: Colombia and Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama.

Gubach (lat. Melursus ursinus). A predator with a body length of up to 1.8 meters, height at the withers varies from 65 to 90 centimeters, females are approximately 30% smaller than males in both respects. The body of the sloth fish is massive, the head is large, with a flat forehead and an overly elongated muzzle, which ends in mobile, completely hairless, protruding lips. The bear's fur is long, usually black or dirty brown in color, and in the area of ​​the animal's neck it often forms something like a shaggy mane. The sloth bear's chest has a light spot. The habitat of this type of bear is India, some areas of Pakistan, Bhutan, the territory of Bangladesh and Nepal.

Giant panda (bamboo bear) (lat. Ailuropoda melanoleuca). This type bears have a massive, squat body, which is covered with dense, thick black and white fur. The paws are short, thick, with sharp claws and completely hairless pads: this allows pandas to firmly hold smooth and slippery bamboo stems. The structure of the front paws of these bears is very unusually developed: five ordinary fingers are complemented by a large sixth, although it is not a real finger, but a modified bone. Such amazing paws enable the panda to easily handle the thinnest bamboo shoots. The bamboo bear lives in the mountainous regions of China, with especially large populations living in Tibet and Sichuan.

- a predator belonging to the suborder Canidae, the bear family and the genus bear. This unique mammal is an endangered species. Its most famous names are umka, oshkuy, nanuk and polar bear. It lives in the north, feeds on fish and smaller animals, and sometimes attacks humans. Just a few centuries ago, its population exceeded hundreds of thousands of individuals, but their systematic destruction forced conservationists to sound the alarm.

Where does the polar bear live?

The polar bear lives exclusively in the polar regions northern hemisphere, but this does not mean that the animal lives wherever there is non-melting Arctic snow. Most bears don't go further than 88 degrees northern latitude, the extreme point of their distribution in the south is the island of Newfoundland, the few inhabitants of which risk their lives every day, trying to get along with a dangerous predator.

Residents of the Arctic and tundra zones of Russia, Greenland, the USA and Canada are also familiar with the polar bear. Most animals live in areas with drifting, multi-year ice, where many seals and walruses also live. Most often, the bear can be seen near a large hole, on the edge of which it freezes in anticipation of a seal or fur seal rising from the depths.

It is impossible to accurately determine the continent where the polar bear lives. The most extensive populations of these animals were named after the location of their main concentration. So, most predators prefer:

• the eastern shores of the Kara and East Siberian seas, the cold waters of the Laptev Sea, the New Siberian Islands and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago (Laptev population);
• shores Barents Sea, western part Kara Sea, islands of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen (Kara-Barents Sea population);
• Chukchi Sea, northern Bering Sea, east East Siberian Sea, Wrangel and Herald Islands (Chukchi-Alaskan population).

Directly in the Arctic, polar bears are rarely found, preferring more southern and warm seas where they have a better chance of survival. Habitat is variable and bounded by boundaries polar ice. If the Arctic summer drags on and the ice begins to melt, then animals move closer to the pole. With the onset of winter, they return to the south, preferring ice-covered coastal zones and the mainland.

Description of a polar bear

Polar bears, described below, are the most large mammals predators on the planet. They owe their significant dimensions to their distant ancestor, who became extinct thousands of years ago. The giant polar bear was at least 4 meters long and weighed about 1.2 tons.

The modern polar bear is somewhat inferior in both weight and height. So, maximum length a polar bear does not exceed 3 meters with a body weight of up to 1 ton. The average weight of males does not exceed 500 kilograms, females weigh 200-350 kilograms. The height of an adult animal at the withers is only 1.2-1.5 meters, while the giant polar bear reached a height of 2-2.5 meters.

Coat, structural features of the body and head

The entire body of the polar bear is covered with fur, which protects from severe frosts and allows you to feel comfortable even in ice water. Only the nose and paw pads are devoid of fur. The color of the fur coat can be crystal white, yellowish and even green.

In reality, the animal’s fur is devoid of pigmentation, it is colorless, the hairs are hollow, dense, hard, located at a minimum distance from each other. There is a well-developed undercoat, under which black skin with a 10-centimeter layer of fat is found.

The white coat color serves as an ideal camouflage for the animal. It is not easy for even an experienced hunter to spot a hidden bear, but seals and walruses often become victims of this cunning and cruel predator.

Structure of the torso, head and legs

Unlike a grizzly bear, a polar bear's neck is elongated, its head is flat, its front part is elongated, and its ears are small and rounded.

These animals are skilled swimmers, which is achieved due to the presence of membranes between their toes and is determined by where the polar bear lives most of the year. At the moment of swimming, it does not matter how much a polar bear weighs; thanks to its membranes, it can easily overtake even the fastest prey.

The legs of the predator are columnar, ending in powerful paws. The soles of the feet are covered with wool, which serves as ideal protection against freezing and slipping. The front parts of the paws are covered with hard bristles, under which sharp claws are hidden, allowing them to hold prey for a long time. Having captured the prey with its claws, the predator then uses its teeth. Its jaws are powerful, its incisors and fangs are well developed. A healthy animal has up to 42 teeth and no facial vibrissae.

All representatives of this species have a tail, the polar bear is no exception in this regard. Its tail is small, from 7 to 13 centimeters long, lost against the background of the elongated fur of the back.

Endurance

The polar bear is an extremely resilient animal; despite its apparent clumsiness, it is capable of traveling up to 5.6 kilometers per hour on land and up to 7 kilometers per hour in water. The average speed of a predator is 40 kilometers per hour.

Polar bears hear and see well, and their excellent sense of smell allows them to smell prey located at a distance of 1 kilometer from them. The animal is able to detect a seal hiding under several meters of snow, or hiding at the bottom of a hole, even if it is at a depth of over 1 meter.

How long does a polar bear live?

Oddly enough, polar bears live longer in captivity than in natural environment habitat. Average duration life in this case does not exceed 20-30 years, while a zoo inhabitant is quite capable of living over 45-50 years. This is due to the shrinking food supply, the annual melting of glaciers and the ongoing extermination of predators by humans.

In Russia, polar bear hunting is prohibited, but in other countries there are only some restrictions on this matter, allowing the extermination of no more than several hundred predators per year. In most cases, such hunting has nothing to do with real needs in meat and skins, therefore it is a real barbarity in relation to this beautiful and powerful beast.

Features of character and lifestyle

The polar bear is considered a cruel predator that even attacks people. The animal prefers a solitary lifestyle; males and females gather together only during the rutting period. The rest of the time, bears move exclusively through their own territory, conquered from their other brothers, and this applies not only to males, but also to females with newborn offspring.

Hibernation

Unlike its brown counterparts, the polar bear does not have to hibernate for the winter. Most often, only pregnant females sleep on the eve of giving birth. Adult males do not sleep every season; the duration of hibernation is no more than 80 days (a brown bear sleeps from 75 to 195 days a year).

Reproduction of polar bears, care of offspring

Polar bears behave quite peacefully towards each other; most fights occur between males during the rutting period. At this time, not only adult animals, but also cubs can suffer, preventing the female from re-participating in mating games.

Animals become sexually mature when they reach 4 or 8 years of age, while females are ready to bear offspring 1-2 years earlier than males.

The mating season lasts from late March to early June. One female can be pursued by up to 7 males. Gestation of offspring takes at least 250 days, which corresponds to 8 months. Pregnancy begins with a latent stage, which is characterized by delayed implantation of the embryo. This feature is associated not only with the physiology of the animal, but also with its living conditions. The female must prepare for fetal development and long hibernation. Around the end of October, she begins to equip her own den, and for this purpose sometimes travels hundreds of kilometers. Many females dig dens near existing buildings. Thus, on the Wrangel and Franz Josef islands there are at least 150 nearby dens.

Embryo development begins in mid-November, when the female is already sleeping. Its hibernation ends in April and at about the same time 1-3 cubs, weighing from 450 to 700 grams each, appear in the den. The exception is the birth of 4 cubs. The babies are covered with thin fur, which practically does not protect them from the cold, therefore in the first weeks of their life the female does not leave the den, maintaining her existence at the expense of accumulated fat.

Newborn cubs feed exclusively on mother's milk. They do not open their eyes immediately, but a month after birth. Two-month-old babies begin to crawl out of the den, only to leave it completely when they reach 3 months. At the same time, they continue to feed on milk and stay close to the female until they reach 1.5 years. Small cubs are practically helpless, so they often become prey for larger predators. The mortality rate among polar bears under 1 year of age is at least 10-30%.

A new pregnancy in a female occurs only after the death of the offspring, or their introduction into adulthood, that is, no more than once every 2-3 years. On average, no more than 15 cubs are born from one female during her entire life, half of which die.

What does a polar bear eat?

The polar bear feeds exclusively on meat and fish. Its victims include seals, ringed seals, sea ​​hare, walruses, beluga whales and narwhals. Having caught and killed the prey, the predator begins to eat its skin and fat. This part of the carcass is what polar bears eat in most cases. They prefer not to eat fresh meat, making an exception only during periods of prolonged hunger strikes. Such a nutritious diet is necessary for the accumulation of vitamin A in the liver, which helps to survive a long winter without consequences. What the polar bear does not eat is picked up by the scavengers that follow it - arctic foxes and wolves.

To satiate, a predator needs at least 7 kilograms of food. A hungry bear can eat 19 kilograms or more. If the prey is gone and there is no strength left to pursue it, then the animal feeds on fish, carrion, bird eggs and chicks. At such times, the bear becomes dangerous to humans. He wanders to the outskirts of villages, feeding on garbage and tracking down lonely travelers. In hungry years, bears also do not disdain algae and grass. Periods of prolonged fasting generally occur during summer time when the ice melts and retreats from the shore. At this time, the bears are forced to spend their own fat reserves, sometimes starving for over 4 months in a row. The question of what a polar bear eats becomes irrelevant during such periods, since the animal is ready to feed on literally everything that moves.

Hunting

The bear tracks its prey for a long time; sometimes it stands for hours near the hole, waiting for the seal to come up for air. As soon as the prey's head is above the water, the predator strikes it with a powerful paw. He grabs the stunned carcass with his claws and pulls it onto land. To increase its chances of being caught, the bear expands the boundaries of the hole and practically immerses its head in the water in order to have time to notice the appearance of prey.

Seals cannot spend all their time in the water; they need to rest sometimes, which is what polar bears take advantage of. Having noticed a suitable seal, the bear quietly swims up and turns over the ice floe on which it is resting. The seal's fate is sealed. If a walrus became the bear's prey, then everything is not so clear. Walruses have powerful defenses in the form of their front tusks, with which they can easily pierce an unlucky attacker. An adult walrus can be much bigger stronger than a bear, especially if he is young and does not yet have sufficient experience in such battles.

With this in mind, bears attack only weak or young walruses, doing this exclusively on land. The prey is tracked for a long time, the bear creeps up to the closest possible distance, after which it makes a jump and leans on the victim with all its weight.

IN natural environment The bear's habitat has a minimal number of enemies. If an animal is wounded or sick, it can be attacked by walruses, killer whales, wolves, arctic foxes and even dogs. A healthy bear is larger than any of the named predators and can easily cope with even several attacking opponents total mass. A sick animal takes a significant risk and often prefers to avoid battle by lying down in a den.

Sometimes small bear cubs, whose mother has gone hunting or is inattentively watching them, become prey for wolves and dogs. The life of the bear is also threatened by poachers who are interested in killing the animal in order to obtain its luxurious skin and large amounts of meat.

Family connections

First appeared on the planet approximately 5 million years ago. The polar bear separated from its brown ancestors no more than 600 thousand years ago, and yet its closest relative continues to be the common brown bear.

Both the polar bear and the brown bear are genetically similar, therefore, as a result of crossing, completely viable offspring are obtained, which can subsequently also be used to produce young animals. Black and white bears will not be naturally born, but the young will inherit everything best qualities both individuals.

At the same time, polar and brown bears live in different ecological systems, which affected the development of a number of phenotypic characteristics in them, as well as differences in nutrition, behavior and lifestyle. The presence of significant differences in all of the above allowed us to classify the brown bear, or grizzly, as a separate species.

Polar bear and brown bear: comparative characteristics

Both polar and brown bears have a number of distinctive features, the essence of which boils down to the following:

	Polar bear, or Umka	Black and brown bear
Length	At least 3 meters	2-2.5 meters
Body weight	1-1.2 tons	Up to 750 kilograms maximum
Subspecies	Doesn't have any	The brown bear has large number subspecies that have spread throughout the world.
Physiological characteristics	Elongated neck, medium-sized flattened head.	Thick and short neck, massive rounded head.
Habitat	The southern border of the polar bear's habitat is the tundra.	Brown bears are distributed throughout the planet, at the same time preferring more southern regions. The limit of their habitat in the north is the southern border of the tundra.
Food preferences	The polar bear eats meat and fish.	In addition to meat, the brown bear eats berries, nuts, and insect larvae.
Hibernation time	Hibernation does not exceed 80 days. Mostly pregnant females go on vacation.	The duration of hibernation is from 75 to 195 days, depending on the region where the animal lives.
Gon	March-June	May - July
Offspring	No more than 3 cubs, most often 1-2 newborns in a litter.	2-3 cubs are born, in some cases their number can reach 4-5.

Both polar and brown bears are dangerous predators, which leads to natural questions about who is stronger in a fight, a polar bear or a grizzly bear? It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question posed about who is stronger, or who will win, a polar bear or a brown one. These animals almost never intersect. In a zoo, they behave quite peacefully.

Interesting facts about the polar bear

There are many legends and myths about the polar bear. At the same time, some features of his behavior are so interesting that they deserve the attention of not only lovers of legends, but also young admirers of wildlife. Today the following is known about the polar bear:

• The largest predators are found in the Barents Sea; smaller animals prefer the island of Spitsbergen and the area near it.
• In photographs taken under ultraviolet light, the polar bear's fur appears black.
• Starving bears can cover enormous distances, moving not only on land, but also by swimming. In this, both the polar and the brown bear are similar. A bear swim lasting over 9 days was recorded. During this time, the female traveled over 660 kilometers across the Beaufort Sea, lost 22% of her body weight and her one-year-old cub, but remained alive and was able to get ashore.
• The polar bear is not afraid of humans; a hungry predator is capable of making him its prey, tirelessly chasing him for many days. In the city of Churchill, which belongs to the Canadian province of Manitoba, there is a special place where bears that wander into the settlement are temporarily imprisoned. The existence of a temporary zoo is a necessary measure. Unfrightened by human presence, a hungry predator can enter a house and attack a person. After an overexposure and a hearty meal, the bear leaves the city less aggressive, which allows us to hope that it will not return soon.
• According to the Eskimos, the polar bear embodies the forces of nature. A man cannot call himself such until he enters into an equal confrontation with him.
• The giant polar bear is the ancestor of the modern bear.
• In 1962, a bear weighing 1,002 kilograms was shot and killed in Alaska.
• The bear is a warm-blooded animal. Its body temperature reaches 31 degrees Celsius, which makes it quite difficult for the predator to move quickly. Running for a long time can cause your body to overheat.
• Children are introduced to the image of the polar bear through such cartoons as “Umka”, “Elka” and “Bernard”.
• Everyone's favorite sweets "Bear in the North" also have an image of a polar bear.
• The official polar bear day is February 27th.
• The polar bear is one of the symbols of the state of Alaska.

Polar bears are considered to be insufficiently fertile, which is why their population is recovering extremely slowly. According to a check carried out in 2013, the number of bears in Russia did not exceed 7 thousand individuals (20-25 thousand individuals worldwide).

The first ban on the extraction of meat and skins of these animals was introduced in 1957, due to their almost complete extermination by local residents and poachers. Polar bears, whose habitat has been disturbed, are encroaching on human property.

Regarding mortality and life expectancy, everything marine mammals have a relatively long life. Typically, lifespan is related to the size of the animal; the larger the mammal species, the longer they live. However, there are many factors that negatively affect the lifespan of polar bears.

IN wildlife, male and female polar bears live up to 29 and 32 years, respectively, or an average of about 19 years. In captivity, their lifespan can be 40 years or even more.

Young polar bears are born between December and January. The female brings her cubs out of the den in late February or early March. She protects her offspring all the time, especially from males. As a rule, only one of the two cubs reaches maturity, since raising two cubs is a difficult task for the female.

Polar bears have no potential predators, but they are their own enemies. Sometimes, when there is a shortage of food and polar bears starve for months, they kill and eat their cubs. This explains why most of them do not reach adulthood.

Young coppers leave their mothers 2-3 years after their birth. At the beginning of independent life, cubs should avoid any adult male, who is likely to kill and eat them.

Climate change and pollution environment are other reasons that negatively affect the life expectancy of polar bears. As the climate changes, the ice floes that usually support the bears' prey, seals, are melting. This pushes polar bears to hunt on land or swim further than was previously required.

The bear is the largest predator in the world. It has virtually no natural enemies. He can run after a moose at speeds of up to fifty kilometers per hour, and after a meal he can eat lunch wild berries. But it’s not always possible to eat to your heart’s content. Therefore, the life of a bear depends on the difficulties it faces in the wild.

There are eight species of bears in total. on their longevity is influenced by external factors, b iological features and habitat. So, a polar bear lives for twenty years, and in captivity - up to forty. The brown bear lives twenty-five years in the wild, and in captivity lives up to fifty. Black bear - fifteen, and in captivity - up to thirty. The panda lives up to twenty, the Malayan bear - up to twenty-four, and the spectacled bear - up to twenty-one years.

The lifespan of a bear can be affected by:

• productivity;
• illness;
• competition with other predators;
• natural disasters;
• poaching.

Before winter, in addition to searching and arranging a den, a brown bear must gain weight (about 50 kg). It will use the stored fat instead of food during hibernation. Alas, there are seasons when the bear does not have enough food. If he does not gain the necessary mass, he becomes hungry and turns into an aggressive predator. People are used to calling such a bear a connecting rod. A hungry beast is forced to attack rural livestock and even people. In especially lean years, many emaciated animals died due to hunger. In 1968, 270 bears were killed in remote parts of Russia.

When a bear's territory is destroyed by extensive forest fires, it is forced to flee to other areas. Since he has to explore new territory, he is especially aggressive during this period. If the bear for a long time is in this state, it becomes a connecting rod. An animal can also injure itself on a branch, be injured on a boulder, and simply get sick. It is worth remembering that a wounded or sick bear can harm a person.

The Ussuri tiger is considered to be the bear's main rival. Conflicts between animals occur in lean years, when there is little prey and it has to be divided. Usually bears try to avoid encounters with tigers. So, white-breasted bear in case of danger, climbs a tree and does not come down until predatory cat patience will not run out. However, large males take the fight. Such encounters end in the death and severe injuries of one of the predators. The outcome of the battle depends on chance - a seasoned beast will defeat a younger and inexperienced one. For smaller individuals, wolves are a formidable enemy. But the bear's most dangerous enemy is man.

Unfortunately, man allows himself to kill animals. Fun is worth living, and photographs with a dead animal in the background raise your status. Skins and body parts are called trophies, and people are called hunters. Every year, 100-200 polar bears are killed in the Arctic, and in total there are about 20 thousand of them left in the world. Brown and polar bears are listed in the Red Book. In addition to being fun for hunters, it is money for poachers and business for private companies.

The bear is an amazing animal. It can climb trees, swim, eat ants, hold its breath for up to four minutes, and smell odors up to 20 km away. When he is alive, he protects our forests, when he dies, he fertilizes the earth. Everyone's job is to leave a legacy. The bear's concern is to be part of nature.

Polar bears are endangered, but they are not fragile and gentle creatures. They are attractive but cold-blooded killers, capable of pulling a seal out of the water by hooking it by the head with one easy movement with their curved claws. If the ice floes on which they hunt completely melt , the bears will probably be able to adapt to new conditions by reuniting with their land relatives. But then it will no longer be an ice bear.

Lifespan of bears
Mortality among adult bears is estimated at 8-16%, among immature bears 3-16%, and among cubs 10-30%. Maximum lifespan is 25-30 years, rarely more. There is evidence of a polar bear reaching the age of 37 years. The Asian black bear lives in captivity for more than 30 years; its lifespan in the wild is unknown.

Not afraid of man
The polar bear is the only large land mammal that is not afraid of humans. He continues to pursue the hunters even after being severely wounded, struck in vital organs. Polar bears often do not pay attention to people - but this is only if they are not hungry and do not hope to profit from prey.

How bears communicate
Although polar bears prefer to stay alone, with the exception of families consisting of a female bear and her offspring, they have a well-developed language for communication. So a dull growl will be a warning about danger to relatives. With the same sound, the bear drives others away from its prey. Begging for food from a more fortunate fellow, the bear approaches slowly, sways, and then reaches nose to nose for a greeting ritual.

As a rule, a polite request does not go unanswered, and after an exchange of pleasantries, the relative is allowed to eat together. Young bears love to play, inviting fun, they swing their heads from side to side. When an adult bear wants to play, he stands on his hind legs, lowers his muzzle and stretches out his front paws. Games between adults imitate fights over a female or a battle between an owner and a trespasser. But hissing and grumbling indicate seriousness of intentions. In preparation for an attack, it extends its muzzle forward and flattens its ears. In a submission pose, the bear always moves while hugging the ground. When a bear approaches a female with cubs, she defends her offspring by rushing at them with her head down.

Signals
Brown bears living at a distance from each other maintain relationships using signals. These are the marks on trees - stripped bark, the smell of urine. The owner of the site has to go around his property, updating the tags - this is a guarantee that strangers will not try to violate the boundaries. Bears try to avoid the company of relatives and, sensing the smell, turn to the side. In general, brown bears have to travel long distances (150 km) in search of seasonal food that appears on its territory.

Under mother's protection
The mother never lets her babies go far from her, because there is always a threat from males. A female bear with cubs remains barren all year and is not ready to mate, but having lost offspring, she soon conceives a new one. Pregnancy lasts 6-9 months, 1-4 cubs are born. Newborns of the Himalayan bear weigh about 300 g. The cubs spend 2-3 years with their mother. When danger appears, the female drives the children into a tree, and she attacks the enemy if he comes very close. If necessary, bears can run very fast.

Teddy bear games
... are important in the process of their learning to obtain food. The development of the cubs is slow and they stay with their mother for a long time, which allows them to watch how she hunts, and also remember where what kind of prey is found. Together with its mother, the bear cub acquires its first hunting experience. Even a herbivorous spectacled bear must acquire knowledge about which plants are suitable for food, which parts are the most nutritious, and at what time of year to collect which plants. For omnivores, it is necessary to know the places where salmon live and the time when they return to the rivers to spawn. Together with their mother, they look for clearings with berries and dig up edible parts of plants.

Polar bear cubs
... at birth weigh less than 700 grams. Polar bear cubs weigh only a tenth of the normal cub weight of other mammals of the same mass. The reason for this is the prolonged fasting of the mother, who does not feed during pregnancy. As a result, the fetus receives nutrients from the mother's body, rather than from the food she absorbs. Compensating for the lack nutrients Especially fatty bear milk is used, which in polar bears exceeds in calorie content all other relatives in the family. Typically, a female gives birth to two cubs, but there have been cases of five cubs in one litter, but none of them survived. The cub stays in the den until it gains a weight of 8-9 kg. The cubs stay with their mother for two and a half years. Physical maturity occurs at the age of 5-6 years for females and 10-11 years for males, puberty- at the age of 5 years.

Only females hibernate
Unlike other bears that live in cold climates, polar bears do not usually hibernate for long periods of time. They rarely overwinter, with the exception of pregnant females, who overwinter every 2-5 years. A she-bear makes a den in the snow. Typically, this is a long tunnel leading to an oval-shaped chamber. In some cases, bears have additional tunnels and chambers.

Polar bears have delayed conception
Pregnancy lasts 190 - 260 days, this interval is explained by the possibility of “delayed conception,” that is, the embryo begins to develop in the mother’s body not from the moment of her fertilization. Sperm is stored in her body until the onset favorable conditions for breeding offspring.

Lone bears
Unlike other species, polar bears live solitary lives.

Not particularly lucky hunters
Although polar bears hunt almost all of their time. Their hunt is successful only in 2% of all cases.

They live to eat
In order to maintain the necessary fat reserves, a polar bear must eat a lot of food. At one time he eats at least 45 kg of seal meat. Half of the calories go towards maintaining body heat. Polar bears eat seals reindeer, walruses, white whales. They supplement their diet with berries, mushrooms, lichens and rare tundra vegetation. In general, bears are omnivores, like foxes, badgers and mongooses. The polar bear prefers to stay among floating ice or on the fast ice at their edge, near polynyas and clearings. Here, seals are the most numerous all year round, which serve as the main food of this predator (in a year the bear catches and eats up to 40 - 50 seals).

Polar bear fur
...corresponds to the name of the mammal, but in summer it sometimes turns straw-yellow, oxidizing in the sun. The individual outer hairs, called guard hairs, are transparent and hollow. Absorbing ultraviolet light, they conduct it into the black skin of the bear, like the nose and lips. Wool retains heat so well that it cannot be detected by infrared photography, only ultraviolet. When air temperatures are below zero, a bear can swim up to 80 km in icy Arctic water without resting.

Polar bear ears less than that of its relatives. This helps him retain body heat.

All white Ursus bears(Thalarctos) maritimus left-handed.

Orientation and smell
Polar bears have a well-developed sense of orientation and a keen sense of smell: a polar bear can smell a dead seal from a distance of 200 miles. It senses prey even under the ice: it detects a live seal from a distance of 1 m, even if it is under the ice in the water, and a polar bear on land.

Up to 40% of a polar bear's mass makes up subcutaneous fat, which reliably protects the animal from hypothermia.

Brown bear (lat. Ursus arctos) - carnivorous mammal bear family; one of the largest land predators.

The brown clumsy bear is a forest animal.

Its usual habitats in Russia are continuous forests with windbreaks and burnt areas with dense growth of deciduous trees, shrubs and grasses; can roll into the tundra and alpine forests. In Europe it prefers mountain forests; V North America more often found in open places - in the tundra, in alpine meadows and on the coast.

The bear usually lives alone, the female lives with cubs of different ages. Males and females are territorial, an individual area on average occupies from 73 to 414 km?, and for males it is approximately 7 one more than for females. The boundaries of the site are marked with scent marks and “scratches” - scratches on conspicuous trees. Sometimes makes seasonal migrations; So in the mountains, the brown clumsy bear, starting in spring, feeds in the valleys where the snow melts earlier, then goes to the chars ( alpine meadows), then gradually descends into the forest belt, where berries and nuts ripen.

The brown clumsy bear is omnivorous, but its diet is 3/4 plant-based: berries, acorns, nuts, roots, tubers and grass stems. In years when there is no berry harvest in the northern regions, bears visit oat crops, and in the southern regions - corn crops; on Far East in autumn they feed in cedar forests. Its diet also includes insects (ants), worms, lizards, frogs, rodents (mice, marmots, gophers, chipmunks). In summer, insects and their larvae sometimes make up up to 1/3 of a bear’s diet. Large males attack young ungulates - roe deer, fallow deer, deer (caribou, big-hearted deer, pampas deer), ibex, wild boar and moose. Grizzlies sometimes attack baribal bears. The brown clumsy bear loves honey; eats carrion and sometimes takes prey from tigers, wolves and pumas.

The usual food item is also fish during spawning season (anadromous salmonids). In years when food is poor, bears sometimes attack livestock and destroy apiaries.

The brown bear is active throughout the day, but more often in the mornings and evenings. The seasonal cyclicality of life is clearly expressed. By winter, the clumsy bear fattens up its subcutaneous fat (up to 180 kg) and lies in its den in the fall. Dens are located in a dry place, in most cases in holes protected by windbreaks or under uprooted tree roots. Bears reach sexual maturity at 4-6 years of age, but continue to grow until 10-11 years of age. Life expectancy in nature is 20-30 years, in captivity - up to 47-50 years.

Updated: 09/24/2009

In captivity, polar bears live longer because they are fed properly and on time and given an ideal environment.

Under ideal conditions, polar bears live about 32 - 35 years, and one specimen reached 43 years. They don't hunt animals because they don't need to. All this helps to increase the life expectancy of polar bears in captivity.

Polar bears do not appear to be natural predators in the Arctic. However, adult bears sometimes fight each other to defeat a female during the breeding season. The polar bear's struggle results in severe bruising, which is likely the cause of her death. A wounded bear, no matter how powerful, is less likely to hunt.

In addition to fighting, adult polar bears also kill cubs mainly to bring females into estrus and rarely eat them as a potential food source. Interspecies conflict also appears to become more significant when food is scarce. All these reasons lead to a reduction in the life expectancy of polar bears in the wild.

Quick answer: bears live up to 50 years.

The brown or common bear, as it is often called, is the most famous member of the bear family. And one of the largest - sometimes you come across giants weighing more than one ton! Agree, such dimensions are impressive...

Bears reach sexual maturity at 3 years of age, and continue to grow until they are 10-12 years old. Life expectancy in nature rarely exceeds 30 years, while in captivity it increases to 50 years.

This is due to the fact that although bears have practically no enemies in nature, strikes between the same males occur quite often. Sometimes with a fatal outcome. However, the life expectancy of a brown bear compared to many other animals is quite high.

The polar bear is the closest relative of the brown bear. It is believed that the separation between them occurred about 500 thousand years ago. Subsequently, these two species were crossed and hybridization occurred. Scientists are confident that polar bears are descendants of those same hybrids.

As with the brown bear, the polar bear's lifespan is 25-30 years in the wild and no more than 45 years in captivity.

Another famous type of bear is the grizzly bear. This is a subspecies of brown bear, mostly found in Canada and Alaska. Appearance The grizzly bear resembles the Siberian subspecies of the brown bear.

Grizzly bears in nature live somewhat shorter - up to 25 years, but in captivity they can live up to 40 years.

Menacing brown bears are majestic guardians of forests. This beautiful animal is considered a symbol of Russia, although numerous habitats can be found in all corners of our planet. Since the brown bear is in danger of complete extinction, it is listed in the Red Book. This animal mainly lives in Russia, the USA and Canada. Not large number bears survived in Europe and Asia.

The lifestyle of this important “master of the taiga” is very interesting. How long does a brown bear live? What weight can it reach? We will tell you the most interesting facts about the life of the brown clubfoot in this article.

Brown bear: description of appearance

This animal is very strong. The powerful body is covered with thick hair, and the withers are clearly visible on the back. It contains a large number of muscles that allow the bear to deliver crushing blows with its paws, fell trees or dig the ground.

His head is very large, with small ears and small, deep-set eyes. The bears' tail is short - about 2 cm, barely noticeable under the layer of fur. The paws are very strong, with large curved claws reaching a length of 10 cm. When walking, the bear evenly transfers the weight of the body on the entire sole, like a person, and therefore it belongs to the species of plantigrade animals.

The fur of the famous “master of the taiga” is very beautiful - thick, evenly colored. Brown bears have a tendency to shed - in spring and autumn they renew their fur coat. The first coat change occurs immediately after hibernation and is very intense. Its manifestations are especially noticeable during the rutting period. Autumn molting proceeds slowly and continues until hibernation.

How long does a brown bear live?

The lifespan of a clubfoot depends on its habitat. In the wild, a brown bear can reach an age of 20 to 35 years. If the animal is kept in a zoo, this figure almost doubles. In captivity, a bear can live about 50 years. The onset of puberty occurs between the ages of 6 and 11 years.

Dimensions and weight of the animal

The standard body length of a clubfoot predator ranges from one to two meters. The largest bears live in Alaska, Kamchatka and the Far East. These are grizzlies, true giants, whose height when standing on their hind legs reaches three meters.

The maximum weight of a bear (brown) can be 600 kg. These are real heavyweight giants. The average weight of an adult male is 140-400 kg, and the weight of a female is 90-210 kg. The largest male was discovered on Kodiak Island. His body weight was enormous - 1134 kg. However, animals living in middle lane Russia, weigh much less - about 100 kg.

By autumn, this animal accumulates a large fat reserve for the upcoming hibernation, and therefore the weight of the bear (brown) increases by 20%.

Habitats

Bears mainly live in dense forests and swampy areas. They can often be seen in the tundra or alpine forests. In Russia, this animal occupies remote northern regions. Brown bears are very common in Siberia. The calm forests of the taiga allow the clubfoot to feel spacious and free, and here nothing interferes with their existence.

In the USA, bears live mainly in open areas - on the coasts, alpine meadows. In Europe they mainly live in dense mountain forests.

Brown bear populations can also be found in Asia. Their range occupies small areas of Palestine, Iran, northern China and the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

What do bears eat?

Omnivorousness and endurance are the main qualities that help the animal survive in difficult conditions. The brown bear's diet consists of 75% plant foods. The clubfoot can eat tubers, nuts, berries, grass stems, roots and acorns. If this is not enough, the bear can go to the crops of oats or corn, or feed in the cedar forests.

Large individuals have remarkable strength and hunt small young animals. With just one blow of a huge paw, a bear can break the spine of an elk or deer. He hunts roe deer, wild boar, fallow deer, and mountain goats. Without problems, brown bears can feed on rodents, larvae, ants, frogs, worms and lizards.

Skilled fishermen and maskers

Bears often feed on carrion. The clubfoot skillfully covers the found remains of animals with brushwood and tries to stay nearby until it completely eats its “find.” If the bear has recently eaten, it may wait a few days. After some time, the meat of the killed animal will become softer, and he will enjoy it with pleasure.

The most amazing activity of bears is fishing. They go to the Far Eastern spawning rivers, where salmon accumulate en masse. Bears and their offspring especially often hunt here. The mother skillfully catches salmon and takes it to her cubs.

Up to 30 bears can be seen on the river at the same time, and they often engage in battle for prey.

Behavior

The bear has very developed sense of smell. He clearly feels the smell of decomposed meat, even being 3 km away from it. His hearing is also very well developed. Sometimes the bear stands on its hind legs to listen to a sound or sense the direction of the smell of food.

How does a bear behave in nature? The brown “master of the taiga” begins to walk around his property at dusk or early in the morning. In bad weather or during rainy periods, it can wander through the forest all day in search of food.

Speed ​​and agility are the distinctive qualities of the beast

At first glance, this huge animal seems very clumsy and slow. But that's not true. The big brown bear is very agile and easy to move. In pursuit of a victim, it can reach speeds of up to 60 km/h. The bear is also an excellent swimmer. He can easily cover a distance of 6-10 km on water and enjoys swimming on hot summer days.

Young bears quickly climb trees. With age, this ability dulls a little, but does not disappear. However, deep snow is for them ordeal, since the bear moves along it with great difficulty.

Breeding period

Having regained strength after a long sleep, brown bears are ready to mate. The rut begins in the spring, in May, and lasts about a month. Females signal their readiness to mate with a special secretion that has a strong odor. Using these marks, males find their chosen ones and protect them from rivals.

Sometimes fierce fights arise between two bears for the female, in which the fate, and sometimes the life, of one of them is decided. If one of the males dies, the winner may even eat him.

IN mating season bears are very dangerous. They make a wild roar and can attack a person.

Reproduction

Exactly after 6-8 months, cubs are born in the den. Usually the female brings 2-4 cubs, completely bald, with underdeveloped organs of hearing and vision. However, after a month, the cubs’ eyes open and the ability to catch sounds appears. Immediately after birth, the cubs weigh about 500 g and their length reaches 25 cm. By 3 months, all baby teeth have erupted in the cubs.

For the first 6 months of their lives, babies feed on mother's milk. Then berries, insects, and greens are added to their diet. Later, the mother brings them fish or her catch. For about 2 years, babies live with their mother, learn habits, the intricacies of hunting, and hibernate with her. The independent life of a young bear begins at the age of 3-4 years. The father bear never takes part in raising his offspring.

Lifestyle

The brown bear is a fickle animal. It feeds in one place, sleeps in another, and can move several kilometers away from its usual habitat to mate. A young bear wanders around the area until it starts a family.

The brown owner marks his possessions. Only he can hunt here. He marks boundaries in a special way, tearing off the bark from trees. In areas without plantings, a bear can peel off objects that are in its field of vision - stones, slopes.

In summer, he can rest carelessly in open meadows, lying directly on the ground. The main thing is that this place is secluded and safe for the bear.

Why connecting rod?

Before hibernating in winter, the bear must gain the required amount of fat reserves. If it is not enough, the animal has to wander further in search of food. This is where the name comes from - connecting rod.

Moving during the cold season, the bear is doomed to death from frost, hunger or a hunter's gun. However, in winter you can find not only connecting rods. Often a bear's sleep can simply be disturbed by people. Then this well-fed animal is forced to look for a new shelter in order to plunge into hibernation again.

Finding a den

The bear chooses this winter refuge with special care. For dens, reliable, quiet places are chosen, located on the borders of swamps, in windbreaks, on river banks, in secluded caves. The shelter should be dry, warm, spacious and safe.

The bear arranges its den with moss, laying out a soft bedding from it. The shelter is camouflaged and insulated with tree branches. Very often a bear uses a good den for several years.

The life of brown bears consists of searching for food, especially before hibernation. Before falling asleep, the animal diligently confuses its tracks: it walks through swamps, meanders and even walks backwards.

Quiet and relaxing holiday

Bears sleep in a cozy den throughout the long, frosty winter. Old males leave their shelter first. The female bear and her offspring stay in the den longer than others. Hibernation of brown bears lasts 5-6 months. It usually starts in October and ends in April.

Bears do not fall into deep sleep. They remain sensitive and vital and are easily disturbed. A bear's body temperature during sleep is between 29-34 degrees. During hibernation, little energy is consumed, and the clubfoot only needs the fat reserve acquired during active time. During the winter rest period, the bear loses about 80 kg of its weight.

Features of wintering

All winter the bear sleeps on its side, curled up comfortably. Poses on the back or sitting with the head down are less common. Breathing and heart rate slow down during hibernation.

Surprisingly, this animal does not defecate during winter sleep. All waste products in the bear's body are reprocessed and converted into valuable proteins necessary for its existence. The rectum is closed by a dense plug consisting of pine needles, compressed grass and wool. It is removed after the animal leaves the den.

Does a bear suck its paw?

Many naively believe that during hibernation, the clubfoot extracts valuable vitamins from its limbs. But that's not true. The fact is that in January the skin on the bear's paw pads is renewed. Old dry skin bursts and causes him severe discomfort. To somehow moderate this itching, the bear licks its paw, moistening and softening it with its saliva.

Dangerous and strong animal

A bear is first and foremost a predator, powerful and terrible. A chance meeting with this angry beast will not bring anything good.

Spring rut, winter search for a new shelter - during these periods the brown bear is most dangerous. Descriptions or photographs of animals that live in nurseries and are kind to people should not deceive you - they grew up there under completely different conditions. In nature, a seemingly calm animal can show cruelty and easily blow your head off. Especially if you wandered into his territory.

Females with offspring should also be avoided. The mother is driven by instincts and aggression, so it is better not to get in her way.

Of course, the behavior of a clubfoot depends on the situation and time of year. Bears often run away on their own when they see a person in the distance. But don’t think that since this animal can eat berries and honey, this is its favorite food. Better nutrition for a bear it is meat, and he will never miss the opportunity to get it.

Why clubfoot?

This nickname is firmly attached to the bear. And all because when walking he steps alternately on his right and left paws. Therefore, from the outside it seems that the bear is clubbing.

But this slowness and clumsiness is deceptive. Whenever dangerous situation this beast instantly starts galloping and easily overtakes a person. The peculiarity of the structure of the front and hind legs allows him to show unprecedented agility when climbing uphill. He conquers peaks much faster than he descends from them.

It took more than one millennium for such a complex system habitat and life of this amazing animal. As a result, brown bears have gained the ability to survive in areas where harsh conditions are present. climatic conditions. Nature is amazing, and one can only admire its wisdom and immutable laws that put everything in its place.