![]() The English word "bear" comes from Old English bera and belongs to a family of names for the bear in Germanic languages, such as Swedish björn, also used. Learn about the size, diet, population, range, behavior and other fascinating facts about black bears. If you are an Ontario Black Bear hunting enthusiast or an Ontario Moose hunter, you need not look any further than Black Bear Adventures, a black bear and moose. ![]() North American Bear Center - Home In outbreak years, caterpillars usually hatch in May, defoliate huge areas, and pupate 5- 6 weeks later in June or early July. Canadian Black Bear DietsCanadian Black Bear Diet In NorthSUBFAMILY URSINAE Ursus americanus. APPEARANCE This medium-sized bear is usually black with a brown muzzle, lacks a shoulder hump, and often has a white patch on the. Canadian Living is the #1 lifestyle brand for Canadian women. Get the best recipes, advice and inspired ideas for everyday living. Polar bears, Panda, Koala, Black, Grizzly, Red, Brown, & more! Information & facts, pictures, cubs, attack, paws, etc. Although all species of bears, including black and grizzly bears, are technically of the order Carnivor, they are essentially omnivores. Bear - Wikipedia. Bears are carnivoranmammals of the family. Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. 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 the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets. Hernia Repair Overview. Every year, more than half a million hernia repairs are performed in the United States. A hernia occurs when inner layers of abdominal muscle. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense 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 of hibernation, up to 1. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur; they have been used for bear- baiting and other forms of entertainment, such as being made 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 Asian bile bear market. The IUCN lists six bear species as vulnerable or endangered, and even least concern species, such as the brown bear, are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing. Etymology. The English word . In Switzerland, the male first name . The Germanic name Bernard (including Bernhardt and similar forms) means . Bears' closest living relatives are the pinnipeds, canids, and musteloids. Nuclear chromosome analysis show that the karyotype of the six ursine bears is nearly identical, with each having 7. 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 in Procyonidae, where they had been placed by some earlier authorities. These animals looked very different from today's bears, being small and raccoon- like in overall appearance, and diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger. Parictis does not appear in Eurasia and Africa until the Miocene. A Cephalogale- like species gave rise to the genus Ursavus during the early Oligocene (3. Mya); this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears. Species of Ursavus subsequently entered North America, together with Amphicynodon and Cephalogale, during the early Miocene (2. Mya). Members of the living lineages of bears diverged from Ursavus between 1. Mya. Based on genetic and morphological data, the Ailuropodinae (pandas) were the first to diverge from other living bears about 1. Mya, although no fossils of this group have been found before about 5 Mya. This genus is probably the direct ancestor to the North American short- faced bears (genus Arctodus), the South American short- faced bears (Arctotherium), and the spectacled bears, Tremarctos, represented by both an extinct North American species (T. By 3–4 Mya, the species Ursus minimus appears in the fossil record of Europe; apart from its size, it was nearly identical to today's Asian black bear. It is likely ancestral to all bears within Ursinae, perhaps aside from the sloth bear. Two lineages evolved from U. Modern brown bears evolved from U. Species of Ursinae have migrated repeatedly into North America from Eurasia as early as 4 Mya during the early Pliocene. The polar bear is the most recently evolved species and descended from the brown bear around 4. The red panda is not a bear but a musteloid. The cladogram is based on molecular phylogeny of six genes in Flynn, 2. The relationships of the other species are not very well resolved, though the polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping. They are sexually dimorphic with regard to size, with the males being larger. The shoulder blades and the pelvis are correspondingly massive. The limbs are much straighter than those of the big 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, to excavate dens, to dig out burrowing animals, to turn over rocks and logs to locate prey, and to club large creatures. 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. Bears however have a single type of melanin and the hairs have a single colour 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- coloured skin below. They have a thick layer of blubber for extra insulation, and the soles of their feet have a dense pad of fur. Unlike many other carnivorans they have colour vision, perhaps to help them distinguish ripe nuts and fruits. They are unique among carnivorans in not having touch- sensitive whiskers on the muzzle; however, they have an excellent sense 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. The canine teeth are large but mostly used for display, and the molar teeth flat and crushing. Unlike most other members of the Carnivora, bears have relatively undeveloped carnassial teeth, and their teeth are adapted for a diet that includes a significant amount of vegetable matter. 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. Its ability to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut. The panda, in particular, spends 1. An exception is the spectacled bear; native to South America, it inhabits the Andean region. The American black bear is restricted to North America, and the polar bear is restricted to the Arctic Sea. All the remaining species of bear are Asian. Liaisons between breeding bears are brief, and the only times bears are encountered in small groups are mothers with young or occasional seasonal bounties of rich food (such as salmon runs). They use olfaction to locate other foods, encounter mates, avoid rivals and recognise their cubs. Tongue- clicking, grunting or chuffing many be made in cordial situations, such as between mothers and cubs or courting couples, while moaning, huffing, sorting 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. 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 during agonistic encounters. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing the canine 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. This is usually accompanied by clawing and biting the object. Bark may be spread around to draw attention to the marking post. 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. However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves. At certain times of the year, these insects can make up 9. 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 like rodents may be dug out and eaten. They primarily eat the highly digestible blubber. A brown bear can eat 4.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2017
Categories |