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About Bears:
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 specialized 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 for
food. Hunting times are usually in the dusk or the dawn except when humans
are nearby.
Behavior:
Bears generally lead solitary lives, except
for mothers attending her cubs, or males and females during mating season.
Bears form temporary groups only when food is plentiful in a small area. Alaskan brown
bears group in the same area to feed on salmon
during the annual salmon runs, when the fish swim upriver to reach their
spawning grounds. Other bears may live alone but exist in a social
network. A male and female may live in an overlapping home range, each
defending their range from other bears of the same sex. Male young usually
leave their mothers to live in other areas, but females often live in an
area that overlaps that of their mother. Bears travel over large territories in
search of food, remembering the details of the landscape they cover. They
use their excellent memories to return to locations where food was
plentiful in past years or seasons. Most bears are able to climb trees to
chase prey or gain access to additional vegetation. The only exceptions
are polar bears and large adult brown
bears, whose heavy weight makes it difficult to climb trees. Some of the larger 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 if
a situation calls for it. Reproductive
Behavior: The bear's courtship period is very brief.
Bears reproduce seasonally, usually after a period of inactivity similar
to hibernation. Cubs are born toothless, blind, and bald. The cubs of
brown bears, usually born in litters of 1–3, will typically stay with
the mother for two full seasons. They feed on their mother's milk through
the duration of their relationship with their mother, although as the cubs
continue to grow, nursing becomes less frequent and learn to begin hunting
with the mother. They will remain with the mother for approximately three
years, until she enters the next cycle of estrus and drives the cubs off.
Bears will reach sexual maturity in five to seven years. Bears are
generally solitary creatures and will not stay close together for long
periods of time. Exceptions have been regularly observed; siblings
recently on their own, and subadult bears of similar age and status will
spend a significant amount of time in informal social groups.
Bears
& Human
Interaction: Despite their large size, bears are capable
of moving through wooded or rugged terrain while making very little noise.
They may live in surprisingly close proximity with humans. Bears will generally avoid contact with
humans, and are usually aware of a human's presence long before the human
is aware of the bear. As a result, encounters are typically avoidable and
rare. However, bears are opportunistic feeders, and will generally take
food where it is available. When humans provide feeding opportunities,
such as left out garbage, food stored outside, or deliberate feeding, the
chance of confrontation escalates. As a bear begins to associate human
presence with food, it may lose its shyness and pose an increasing risk to
humans. Conflicts may also arise in situations where the bear regards a
human as an immediate threat to itself, its cubs, or food cache (which is
one reason that found animal carcasses should be avoided). In a chance
encounter with a bear, the best course of action is usually to back away
slowly in the direction that you came, speaking in a loud, calm tone to
make sure the bear is aware of your presence and will not be caught off
guard. Raise your hands above your shoulders to make yourself appear
larger. The bear will rarely become aggressive and head towards you. In
order to protect yourself, some suggest passively lying on the ground and
waiting for the bear to lose interest. This does not often work. Another
approach is to constantly maintain an obstacle between you and the bear,
such as a thick tree or boulder. A person is much more agile and quick
than a bear allowing him or her to respond to a bear's clockwise or
counter-clockwise movement around the obstacle and move accordingly. The
bear's frustration will eventually cause disinterest. One can then move
away from the bear to a new obstacle and continue this until he or she has
created a safe distance from the bear. When encountering a bear, one
should never look directly into the bear's eyes. This action can be
misconstrued by many wild animals as an aggressive act. Bears can climb up
and shake trees, therefore, climbing a tree to escape a bear is not
advisable. |
