Latest Bears Stories
A continuation of current climate trends could eliminate the primary food source of polar bears amid fierce competition with grizzly bears as the two species are forced into a shared habitat, said evolutionary biologists at the University of California, Los Angeles.The scientists used 3-D computer modeling to compare the skull and jaw strength of polar bears and brown bears, and found that polar bears are less suited to processing the tough omnivorous or herbivorous diets of their grizzly...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania bear hunters will be able to enjoy a full-week of archery bear season (Nov. 15-19), followed by a Saturday opener of the three-day firearms bear season, which will run Nov. 20, and the following Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 22 and 23, according to Carl G. Roe, Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director. "Pennsylvania's bear population covers more than three-quarters of the state, and includes a number of world-class...
New statistical model demonstrates that trophic mismatch feeds bears without exterminating snow geeseAs the Arctic warms, a new cache of resources"”snow goose eggs"”may help sustain the polar bear population for the foreseeable future. In a new study published in an early online edition of Oikos, researchers affiliated with the Museum show that even large numbers of hungry bears repeatedly raiding nests over many years would have a difficult time eliminating all of the geese because of a...
WSPA-funded sanctuary provides safe haven for bears rescued from the cruel "sport" of bear baiting BOSTON, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, just three months after the devastating floods in Pakistan, a new sanctuary opened in Balkasar to provide a safe haven for 60-70 bears who are still being used for bear baiting - a cruel and illegal blood sport. The sanctuary's first residents are Babu, Sohrab and Maylu - the three bears rescued from Kund Park, Pakistan's only other refuge for...
YARMOUTH PORT, Mass., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, three rescued grizzly bears arrived at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) shelter in Smithers, British Columbia. The bear cubs will undergo several months of rehabilitation before they are fit for release back to the wild. The effort is part of a unique cooperative pilot project between the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the B.C. Ministry of Environment and NLWS. The bears' mother was shot as she charged...
A team of Spanish scientists followed the brown bear population through the mountains of the Cantabrian Cordillera between 1998 and 2007 in order to find out about their hibernation habits, which had been questioned in historical documents. The results confirm that female bears with babies and independent young bears under the age of two do not usually hibernate, while the other bears follow normal hibernation patterns.Brown bears (Ursus arctos) all over the world hibernate, but according to...
The cave bear started to become extinct in Europe 24,000 years ago, but until now the cause was unknown. An international team of scientists has analyzed mitochondrial DNA sequences from 17 new fossil samples, and compared these with the modern brown bear. The results show that the decline of the cave bear started 50,000 years ago, and was caused more by human expansion than by climate change."The decline in the genetic diversity of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) began around 50,000...
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hunters interested in learning the age of the bear they harvested during the 2009 seasons can log onto the Pennsylvania Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). To access the database, click on "Hunt/Trap" in the menu bar at the top of the page, click on "Hunting," scroll down and click on "Black Bear" in the "Big Game" listing, and then scroll down and click on "Black Bear Age Data" in the "Reference" listing. "As a cost-cutting...
Climate change is about more than just polar bears. That is the message from Dr Kate Manzo whose research into climate change communication has been published in Meteorological Applications. The research, which reviews the efforts of journalists, campaigners and politicians to engage the British public with climate change, explores how new 'visual strategies' can communicate climate change messages against a backdrop of increased climate scepticism."There have been various efforts to put...
A new study has found that climate change will trigger a dramatic and sudden decline in the number of polar bears. The research is the first to directly model how changing climate will affect polar bear reproduction and survival. Based on what is understood about a polar bear's physiology, behavior and ecology, the study predicts that pregnancy rates will fall and fewer bears will survive fasting during longer ice-free seasons. These changes will take place suddenly as bears pass a...
Latest Bears Reference Libraries
The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is an extinct species that was found in Europe during the Pleistocene. Its range was large and included areas from Great Britain to Spain, Italy, Poland, the Balkans, areas of Germany, Russia, the Caucuses, Romania, and northern areas of Iran. Large numbers of skeletons have been found in Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, northern Spain, Hungary, Croatia, and Romania. Because so many fossils have been found throughout Europe, some experts assert that there...
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) can be found in North America and northern areas of Eurasia. There are sixteen recognized subspecies of the brown bear. This is the most widely distributed species of bear in the world, although its range is shrinking. Its range includes the Alaska and a few other areas of the United States, areas of Russia, and Romania and other areas of the Carpathian region, as well as Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the Balkans. The brown bear derives its common name from the...
The Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) is a subspecies of the American black bear. It once held a range that included Florida and southern areas of Georgia and Alabama. Today it occurs in these areas and in southern Mississippi, but its range is now fragmented. This species prefers a habitat within forested areas like sand-pine scrub, wetlands, oak scrub, and upland hardwood forests. This is the only species of bear to prefer a subtropical habitat. The Florida black bear...
The cinnamon bear (Ursus americanus cinnamomum) is a subspecies of the American black bear known as a color phase. It can be found in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and western areas of Canada. This species derives it common name from the reddish fur that occurs throughout its body. It can reach an average weight between 203 and 595 pounds. This species can vary in color from reddish brown to red with cream coloring, and some individuals are even brown. Cubs are...
The spectacled bear or the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is native to South America. This bear is locally known as jukumari, ukuko, or ucumari and is the only remaining species of short-faced bear existing today, making it the sole member of the sub-family Tremarctinae. The range of the spectacled bear includes western Venezuela, eastern Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, northwestern Argentina, and western Bolivia. It is only found in the Andes Mountains, but it is thought to be an...
