17 Interesting Bear Facts: You Need to Know

Bears are some of the most fascinating animals on our planet. Though some bears can be very cute and cuddly, some wild bears can be really dangerous in specific situations.

Bears have become the center of legend, folklore, stories, and even mascots due to their interesting strength and size. 

Also, bears are animals that can use clever ways and several tools to look for food; hence, bears are one of the smartest land animals on our planet.

So, in this article, let us explore some really amazing facts about this fascinating mammal called bears.

Interesting Bear Facts:

👉 Bears are omnivores

Bears Are Omnivores

While talking about bears, you must know that polar bears love to eat meat because of the lack of vegetation in the Arctic region.

In contrast, panda bears mostly prefer plants, especially bamboo plants. In comparison, four other bear species prefer a more balanced diet, including meat and plants.

Moreover, some bear species love to have saplings, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Bears can digest younger plants more easily than older plants, providing them with essential nutrients.

👉 Sloth bears eat a lot of insects.

Though they are called bears, they are actually not so low. Sloth bears can actively hunt insects using sticky tongues that are a lot similar to that of anteaters. Their diet even includes termites, ants, and some other insects.

Sloth bears also eat bees and wasps, developing resistance to insect stings, and hence, they can reach the larvae and honey inside hives.

According to scientists, various types of insects can make up almost 90% of a sloth bear’s diet, depending on the time of the year.

👉 Almost all bear species have common physical characteristics

Bear's Physical Characteristics

No matter what species it is, all bears have evolved with distinctly stocky limbs and large bodies. Most bears tend to have rounded, small ears and shaggy fur coats.

They all walk flat-footed, unlike other mammals, like humans with arced feet. Each bear has 5 fixed claws on a single paw and short, bushy tails.

👉 The fur coat of bears

Most bears have 2 coats of hair that make up their fur. A bear’s first coat of hair has really long strands that can protect its skin.

However, the second coat of hair is much shorter and is packed into dense layers to give the animal warmth even in cold environments.

Also, the forearms of a bear are really versatile. They use their stocky forearms to dig their dens, catch prey, and climb trees. Those arms are also flexible enough to pick leaves and hold fruits from trees.

👉 Bears are generally slow.

Bears Are Slow

Almost all bears walk just 1 meter per second, which is slow compared to the average speed of humans walking at 1.4 meters per second. However, bears can get short-speed bursts of around 40 km per hour.

Though this speed is a lot slower than the average running speed of a human of 45 km per hour, bears still can reach their maximum speed a lot faster.

Moreover, bears don’t have whiskers, though some other mammals, like dogs and cats, have whiskers.

👉 They can build their own living places.

Generally, bears build their own dens with their claws by burrowing out enough space for themselves before using logs to hide their dens.

However, these animals can also use some naturally-forming crevices or caves as dens rather than building their own.

Moreover, unlike other predatory mammals, bears can see color. This helps them to find edible leaves and fruits. However, these animals only have an average range of both hearing and sight.

👉 The weight of a bear fluctuates.

Weight Of A Bear Fluctuates

In the case of bears, weight fluctuation may occur in arctic and temperate climates.to endure those harsh weather conditions, bears have to store some fat.

Also, while hibernating, their bodies need proper nutrition, stored as fat.

In autumn, as winter approaches, bears build up fat, resulting in their bodies gaining weight.

However, when the winter ends, the fat becomes exhausted, causing the bear’s body to drop weight in summer and spring. However, bears who live in tropical climates don’t have this characteristic.

👉 Most bear species are vulnerable.

Though both the American black bear and the brown bear enjoy the status of Least Concern, the IUCN still classifies five bear species among six as vulnerable.

Various types of human activities threaten the numbers of the Asian black bear, polar bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and also spectacled bears.

The panda bear holds the status of Endangered, making them the closest to the extinction of all bear species.

👉 Bears’ digestive system is simple.

Bears’ Digestive System

Unlike mammals of similar sizes, such as the cow, bears only have one stomach. The intestines of bears are undifferentiated and very short.

This limits the amount of nutrition they may get from their food. Due to this, bears need to eat a lot of food in just one day to maintain their bodies.

Usually, these mammals need to eat more if their diet is restricted to plants. For example, pandas spend 12 to 15 hours just one day eating to have enough nutrition and energy to stay healthy.

👉 Some bears mainly stay awake during the day

The American black bear and the brown bear are the morning persons among all bear species. However, they may hunt at night.

Other bear species are mainly nocturnal, though there are still some cases where they must look for food during the day.

The female sloth bear remains awake during the day when she needs to look after her cubs because it is a lot easier to find food during the day than at night.

👉 They use different kinds of sounds to communicate

Bear's Communication

Grunting and clicking are some signs of a friendly bear. These sounds are mainly shared between a mating couple or a mother bear and her cubs. In contrast, moaning, huffing, and shuffling indicate discomfort for an agitated bear.

Barking is a sign of excitement or alarm, though bears even make them signal their presence in a certain area.

Popping sounds can be regarded as an indication of warning, while growls, bellows, and roars are signs of aggression.

👉 These mammals are not social animals.

Bears usually prefer to stay alone. Due to this, bears also tend to get very territorial, so they attack anything that enters their turf.

The only exception to this tendency is when female bears give birth to their cubs. However, still then, the mother bear only wants the presence of their cubs until they grow up.

Most bears live in the Northern Hemisphere. Though you may see bears in 60 countries across Europe, North America, and Asia; still the spectacled bears only live in South America’s Andes Mountains.

👉 They have a complex mating procedure.

Bear's Mating Procedure

Prospective mates fight and wrestle with each other before mating. According to scientists, these mating rituals of bears cause the female bears to ovulate, which makes these fights important to breeding.

Also, bears mark their territories by rubbing different plants again to leave their scent behind. Also, bears may bite and claw away a tree’s bark to mark their territory. Another unique way to mark territory by bears is to urinate.

👉Bears do not have any natural predators.

Though vulnerable bear cubs may get preyed upon by some predators, like big cats, adult bears still don’t usually have any significant threat in nature beside other bears. Only humans threaten them, with poachers and hunters killing bears for meat or trade.

However, bears are still vulnerable to worms and protists in their organs. Also, externally, they even suffer from lice, ticks, and fleas infestations.

Polar bears are less prone to parasitic infection because of their unique environment but may suffer from internal parasites.

👉 A brown bear’s color depends on its residence.

A Brown Bear’s Color

For example, in India, brown bears have a reddish tint to their fur that is lined with silver tips.

However, the brown bears of China have distinctive collars around their necks that spread down their chests and shoulders. The color of this collar varies from yellow-brown to white.

In contrast, the brown bears of North America have fur that can shift from dark brown on the lower portions of their bodies to yellow-brown or cream on the upper portion.

👉 Brown bears are the second biggest species of bears

Also known as grizzly bears, these mammals live across the forests and woods of North America and Eurasia. Recently, it has been estimated that almost 200,000 brown bears remain in the wild.

These brown bears are sometimes amazingly social. During the time called a salmon season, large numbers of brown bears come together in rivers and streams to feast.

Also, to maximize food availability, these bears create temporary hierarchies to manage their urges and eventually leave enough food for everyone.

👉 Polar bears live only in the Arctic region

Polar Bears Live In Arctic Region

According to many scientists, polar bears have crossed the entire Arctic to travel from one country to another.

Denmark, Canada, Russia, Norway, and the USA are some of those countries. Recently, almost 20,000 to 31,000 polar bears have lived between those nations.

However, these bears can migrate sometimes, and you will be surprised to know that polar bears live only in the Arctic; you won’t see them in Antarctica.

Thus, bears are interesting mammals known for their intelligence, strength, and other interesting characteristics.

At the end of this article, we learned about 17 really amazing facts about this interesting animal of our planet called bears.

These facts offer us a clear picture of this interesting mammal of our ecosystem. If you want to collect some more amazing facts, you may visit our website.

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