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| Bears | ||||||||||
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American Black Bear | ||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
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| Genera | ||||||||||
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Ailuropoda Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus |
Common characteristics of bears include dense fur, a short tail, excellent senses of smell and hearing, five un-retractable claws, and long, shaggy fur.
Bears have a large body with powerful limbs. They are capable of standing up on their hind legs. They have broad paws, long snouts, and round ears. Their teeth are used for defense and tools and depend on the diet of the bear. Their claws are used for ripping, digging, and catching.
Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the Arctic and from forests to snowfields. They are mainly omnivorous, although some have a more specialised diet, such as polar bears. They eat lichens, roots, nuts, and berries. They can also go to a river or other body of water to capture fish. Bears will commonly travel far from food. Hunting times are usually in the dusk or the dawn except when humans are nearby.
Some of the large species, such as the Polar Bear and the Grizzly Bear, are dangerous to humans, especially in areas where they have become used to people. For the most part, bears are shy and are easily frightened of humans. They will, however, defend their cubs ferociously.
The bear's courtship period is very brief. Bears reproduce seasonally, usually after hibernation. Cubs come out toothless, blind, and bald. The cubs, usually born in litters of 1–3, will stay with the mother for six months. They will be fed by milk at first and will start hunting with the mother in three months. Then, they are weaned. However, they will still remain nearby for three years. The cubs are more sexually mature at seven years. Normally, bears are very solitary and will not remain close together for long periods of time.
Many bears of northern regions are assumed to hibernate in the winter. They actually don't hibernate. Their body temperature sinks a moderate amount and they can be easily awakened.
Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears from hunters or habitat destruction. Bears in captivity used to be trained to dance, box, or unicycle, but it is now controversial to use animals in this way.
Bears have an average life expectancy of 25–40 years.
The genera Melursus and Helarctos are sometimes included in the genus Ursus. The Asiatic Black Bear and the Polar Bear used to be placed in their own genera, Selenarctos and Thalarctos.
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