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Central Hardin High School

Bears have long fascinated humans. Ancient cave art and more recent paintings and sculpture illustrate the fear as well as admiration with which people regard the awesome power and acute intelligence of bears. In fairy tales, bears are the symbolic image of brave deeds. In folk literature, the bear's habit of disappearing in winter months and emerging in spring evokes a theme of spiritual renewal, the replenishment of food, and the return of prosperity. In modern times, as the recreational use of parks and wilderness areas has grown dramatically, humans have experienced increased contact with bears. Bear attacks on humans are rare, however. American black bears killed fewer than 40 people during the 20th century. Grizzly bears, a type of brown bear, are more dangerous, but attacks on humans are still rare. In United States national parks that are home to grizzlies, injury rates from grizzly bears are about one person per 2 million visitors. Bears prefer to avoid humans, but when attacks do occur, they are usually the result of humans surprising these nervous, shy, and easily frightened animals. Bears are bulky animals with wide shoulders, a short back, short and thick legs, broad paws, and a short tail. They have an elongated head, rounded ears that stand straight up, small eyes, and a long snout. Bears hunt for food using an acute sense of hearing and an extremely keen sense of smell--some can detect odors from more than a mile away. Bear eyesight is probably similar in acuity (sharpness) to human vision. Black bears, and likely other bears, have color vision, which helps them identify ripe fruits and nuts.

Bears have 32 to 42 teeth, depending on the species, and these teeth reflect a varied diet of both plants and animals. Although all bears are members of the order Carnivore and are meat eaters, all but polar bears have become omnivorous--that is, they eat many types of foods, including lichens, roots, nuts, fruits, berries, seaweed, grasses, honey, grubs, caterpillars, and ants. Bear teeth are not as sharp or specialized for shearing meat as are those of some other carnivores, such as cats. For instance, canine teeth in most carnivores are generally large and pointed and are used for killing prey. In bears, however, these teeth are relatively small, and bears typically use them more to defend themselves or as tools. The molar teeth of bears are broad and flat, adapted to shredding and grinding plant food into small, easily digested pieces. Bears have four limbs that end in paws. Each paw has five long, sharp claws that are unretractile--unlike cats, bears are not able to retract their claws. Depending on the species, these claws may be used to climb trees, rip open termite nests and beehives, dig up roots, or catch prey. Bears walk differently than most carnivores, which tend to walk on their toes in a way that is adapted for speed. Like humans, bears have a plantigrade stance, walking with their weight on the soles of their hind feet, with the heel touching the ground, while the toes of the forefeet are used more for balance. This distribution of weight toward the hind feet gives bears a lumbering gait. Although bears are slower than most other carnivores, such as lions and wolves, a running bear can still reach speeds of 50 km/h (30 mph). Bears are far stronger than other carnivores, and their limbs are more flexible and agile. Bear fur is long and shaggy. Fur color varies among species, ranging from all white, blonde, or cream to black and white to all black or all brown. Fur color may also vary within a species. American black bears, for instance, may be black, brown, reddish-brown, or bluish-black. Several species, such as the sun bear and spectacled bear, have lighter-colored chest and facial markings. Males are larger than females in all bear species, but the difference between the sexes varies and is greatest in the largest species. Huge male polar bears may weigh twice as much as female polar bears, while smaller male and female sun bears are similar in weight. The life span of bears is not well known. The range seems to be about 25 to 40 years. Bears in the wild tend to die at a younger age than do their counterparts in zoos.

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"Bear". Antarctica Online. 12 May 2005. On-line. Available
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761572258