Brown Bear

Brown Bear Facts

Description

The Brown Bear is often mistaken for a Grizzly Bear due to the resemblance in their physical appearance. Don’t let the name itself fool you though as brown bears can be brown, blonde, and even black in color.

They can stand at a size of about 7 feet tall for the males. The females are about 5 ½ feet tall. There is a big difference in the weight of the adults though. The males can be as much as 700 pounds with the females about half of that.

Distribution

The Brown Bear can be found in the various regions of Asia, North America, and Europe. Russia, Canada, and colder parts of the United States offer plenty of  homes for them to reside In these areas they can be found living in the mountains, the grasslands, and close to the rivers.

Behavior

Like other bears, they like to be left alone. They will only come into contact with each other by chance, for mating, or when they take care of their young. You will often hear them making grunts and roars. This is their way of communicating with others as well as making it known that they have claimed a given part of territory as their own.

Brown Bears do hibernate in the colder times of the year. Depending on where they live this can be from 4 to 7 months at a time. They will find a cave or dig a den where this takes place. During this period of time their heart rate and body temperature drop very low.

Diet /Feeding

Brown Bears aren’t picky when it comes to finding food. Their main sources include berries, roots, and grass. Those that live close to bodies of water will often consume large amounts of fish. It isn’t uncommon for their diet to also consist of different small mammals that they happen to come across as well. They can easily consume up to 90 pounds of food daily.

Reproduction

These bears mate from May through July and they will spend about a week with each other. Mating takes place very often during that period of time to help ensure conception. The females are ready to mate at about five years of age. The males are usually eight or older due to the competition they have with other males before they are able to mate.

It takes about six months from conception for the young to be born. By this time the mother is on her own again and hibernating in a den. The young instinctively are able to find their way to feed from her body. Her offspring will be born while she is in the den. Generally she will give birth to two cubs. The mortality rate is very high with more than half of the young dying before they are one year old.

Both in the wild and in captivity, there have been instances of the Brown Bear mating with the Polar Bear. DNA evidence has concluded these are the two involved creating a hybrid. However, these offspring themselves are infertile.

Conservation

There are more Brown Bears that most other species so they aren’t protected as much. It is believed there are about 200,000 of them remaining in the wild. Still, some conservation efforts have occurred. Most of them involve protecting the natural environment for them.

Human interaction

Attacks on humans from Brown Bears are rare but they do occur. These animals are very curious about things around them or food that is left out. When camping in areas where they live you need to make sure you don’t leave anything open that may attract them.