What is a brown bear? Description, habitat, nutrition, reproduction, hibernation and behavior of the brown bear. Types of bears, names and photos

The well-known animal is distributed throughout almost the entire northern hemisphere, a symbol of power, strength, and the hero of many fairy tales and legends.

Taxonomy

Latin name – Ursus arctos

English name – Brown bear

Order – Carnivora (Carnivora)

Family – Bears (Ursidae)

Genus – bears (Ursus)

Status of the species in nature

The brown bear is not currently in danger of extinction, with the exception of some subspecies living in Western Europe and southern North America. In these places, animals are protected by law. Where the animal is numerous, limited hunting is allowed.

Species and man

The bear has occupied people's imaginations for a long time. Because of the way it often rises on its hind legs, the bear is more like a human than any other animal. “Master of the forest” is how he is usually called. The bear is a character in many fairy tales; there are many sayings and proverbs about it. In them, this beast most often appears as a good-natured bumpkin, a slightly stupid strongman, ready to protect the weak. The respectful and condescending attitude towards this animal is evident from the popular names: “Mikhailo Potapych”, “Toptygin”, “clubfooted”... Comparing a person himself with a bear can be both flattering for him (“strong, like a bear”), and derogatory ( "Clumsy as a bear")

The bear is very common as a coat of arms; it is a symbol of strength, cunning and ferocity in defending the fatherland. Therefore, he is depicted on the coats of arms of many cities: Perm, Berlin, Bern, Yekaterinburg, Novgorod, Norilsk, Syktyvkar, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Yaroslavl and others.

Distribution area and habitats

The distribution area of ​​the brown bear is very vast, covering the entire forest and forest-tundra zones of Eurasia and North America, in the north it extends to the forest border, in the south along the mountainous regions it reaches Asia Minor and Western Asia, Tibet, and Korea. Currently, the range of the species, once continuous, has been significantly reduced to more or less large fragments. The beast disappeared in the Japanese Islands, in the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa, in most of the Iranian Plateau, in the vast Central Plain in North America. In Western and Central Europe, this species remains only in small mountainous areas. On the territory of Russia, the distribution area has changed to a lesser extent; the animal is still quite common in the forests of Siberia and the Far East, in the Russian North.

Brown bear- a typical forest dweller. Most often it is found in vast taiga tracts, replete with windbreaks, moss swamps and dissected by rivers, and in the mountains by gorges. The animal gives preference to forests with dark coniferous species - spruce, fir, cedar. In the mountains he lives among deciduous forests, or in juniper forests.

Appearance and morphology

The brown bear is a very large, massive animal, one of the largest land predators. Within the family, the brown bear is second in size only to the white one. The largest of the brown bears live in Alaska, they are called Kodiaks, the body length of Kodiaks reaches 250 cm, height at the withers 130 cm, weight up to 750 kg. The bears living in Kamchatka are only slightly inferior in size to them. IN middle lane In Russia, the weight of “typical” bears is 250-300 kg.

The brown bear is generally proportionally built; its massive appearance is given by its thick fur and slow movements. The head of this animal is heavy, forehead-shaped, and not as elongated as the white one. The lips, like the nose, are black, the eyes are small and deep-set. The tail is very short, completely hidden in fur. The claws are long, up to 10 cm, especially on the front paws, but slightly curved. The fur is very thick and long, especially in animals living in the northern part of the range. The color is usually brown, but in different animals it can vary from almost black to straw yellow.

Of the sense organs, the brown bear has the best developed sense of smell, hearing is weaker, and vision is poor, so the animal is almost not guided by it.

Lifestyle and social organization

Brown bears, unlike white ones, are mostly sedentary. EveryAn individual plot occupied by one animal can be very extensive, covering an area of ​​up to several hundred square meters. km. The boundaries of the plots are poorly marked, and in very rough terrain they are practically absent. The home ranges of males and females overlap. Within the site there are places where the animal usually feeds, where it finds temporary shelters or lies in a den.

In permanent habitats of bears, their regular movements around the area are marked by clearly visible paths. They are similar to human paths, only unlike them, along bear paths there are often scraps of bear fur hanging on the branches, and on the trunks of particularly noticeable trees there are bear marks - bites with teeth and bark torn off by claws at the height that the animal can reach. Such marks show other bears that the area is occupied. The trails connect places where the bear is guaranteed to find food. Bears place them in the most convenient places, choosing the shortest distance between objects that are significant to them.

A sedentary lifestyle does not prevent the bear from making seasonal migrations to places where this moment food is more accessible. In lean years, a bear can travel 200-300 km in search of food. In the flat taiga, for example, animals spend the summer in clearings overgrown with tall grass, and in early autumn they flock to the swamps, where they are attracted by ripe cranberries. In the mountainous regions of Siberia, at the same time they move to the char zone, where they find an abundance of dwarf pine nuts and lingonberries. On the Pacific coast, during the mass migration of red fish, animals come from afar to the mouths of rivers.

A characteristic feature of the brown bear, common to both males and females, is winter sleep in a den. Dens are located in the most secluded places: on small islands among moss swamps, among windbreaks or dense small forests. Bears most often arrange them under inversions and logs, under the roots of large cedars and spruce trees. In mountainous areas, earthen dens predominate, which are located in rock crevices, shallow caves, and recesses under stones. The inside of the den is arranged very carefully - the animal lines the bottom with moss, branches with pine needles, and tufts of dry grass. Where there are few suitable places for wintering, dens used for many years in a row form real “bear towns”: for example, in Altai, 26 dens were found in a 10 km long segment.

IN different places bears sleep in winter from 2.5 to 6 months. In warm regions, when there is an abundant harvest of nuts, bears do not lie down in a den for the entire winter, but only from time to time, under unfavorable conditions, they fall asleep for several days. Bears sleep alone, only females who have young yearlings sleep together with their cubs. During sleep, if the animal is disturbed, it easily awakens. Often the bear itself leaves the den during prolonged thaws, returning to it at the slightest cold snap.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The brown bear is a true omnivore, eating more plant food than animal food. It is most difficult for a bear to feed itself in early spring, when plant food is completely insufficient. At this time of year, he hunts large ungulates and eats carrion. Then he digs up anthills, getting larvae and the ants themselves. From the beginning of the appearance of greenery until the mass ripening of various berries, the bear spends most of its time fattening on “bear pastures” - forest clearings and meadows, eating umbelliferous plants (hogweed, angelica), sow thistle, and wild garlic. From the second half of summer, when the berries begin to ripen, throughout the forest zone bears switch to feeding on them: first blueberries, raspberries, blueberries, honeysuckle, later lingonberries, cranberries. Autumn period, the most important time for preparing for winter is the time of eating tree fruits. In the middle zone these are acorns, hazelnuts, in the taiga - pine nuts, in the mountainous southern forests - wild apples, pears, cherries, and mulberries. The bear's favorite food in early autumn is ripening oats.

Eating grass in a meadow, the bear peacefully “grazes” for hours, like a cow or horse, or collects the stems it likes with its front paws and puts them in its mouth. Climbing fruit-bearing trees, this sweet tooth breaks off branches, eating the fruits on the spot, or throws them down, sometimes simply shaking the crown. Less agile animals graze under the trees, picking up fallen fruits.

The brown bear willingly digs into the ground, extracting succulent rhizomes and soil invertebrates, turns over stones, extracting and eating worms, beetles and other living creatures from under them.

Bears living along rivers along the Pacific coast are avid fishermen. During the course of the red fish, they gather in dozens near the rifts. While studying fishing the bear goes belly-deep into the water and strong with a quick blow The front paw throws a fish that swims close onto the shore.

The bear hides large ungulates - deer, elk - completely silently approaching the victim from the leeward side. Roe deer sometimes lie in wait along trails or at watering holes. His attack is swift and almost irresistible.

Reproduction and raising of offspring

The mating season for bears begins in May-June. At this time, males chase females, roar, fight fiercely, sometimes with fatal. At this time they are aggressive and dangerous. The formed pair walks together for about a month, and if a new contender appears, not only the male, but also the female drives him away.

Cubs (usually 2) are born in a den in January, weigh only about 500 g, are covered with sparse fur, with eyes closed and ears. The cubs' ear openings appear by the end of the second week, and after another 2 weeks the eyes open. Throughout their first 2 months of life, they lie next to their mother, moving very little. The bear's sleep is not deep, since she needs to care for her cubs. By the time they leave the den, the cubs reach the size of a small dog, weighing from 3 to 7 kg. Milk feeding lasts up to six months, but already at 3 months of age young animals begin to gradually master plant foods, imitating their mother.

For the entire first year of life, the cubs remain with their mother, spending another winter with her in the den. At 3-4 years of age, young bears become sexually mature, but reach full bloom only at the age of 8-10 years.

Lifespan

In nature they live for about 30 years, in captivity they live up to 45-50 years.

Keeping animals at the Moscow Zoo

Brown bears have been kept in the zoo since its founding - 1864. Until recently, they lived on the “Island of Animals” (New Territory) and in the Children’s Zoo. In the early 90s, the governor of the Primorsky Territory brought the bear from the children's zoo as a gift to the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin. The President wisely did not keep “this little animal” at home, but transferred it to the zoo. When the first reconstruction was underway, the bear temporarily left Moscow, stayed in another zoo, and then returned. Now the second reconstruction is underway, and the bear has again left Moscow, this time to the Veliky Ustyug Zoo, where he will live permanently.

Currently, the zoo has one brown bear, which lives on the “Island of Animals”. This is an elderly female of the Kamchatka subspecies, classic brown in color, very large. All winter she sleeps soundly in her den, despite the noisy life of the metropolis. People help set up the winter “apartment”: the bottom of the “den” is lined with pine branches, and on top is a feather bed made of hay. Before they fall asleep, bears both in nature and in the zoo eat pine needles - a bactericidal plug is formed in the intestines. It is not noise that can awaken the animals, but long-term warming, as happened in the winter of 2006-2007.

Brown bears tolerate conditions of captivity well, but, of course, they get bored, because in nature they spend most of their time searching and getting food, which is not something they have to do in a zoo. Mandatory attributes in a bear enclosure are tree trunks. The bears tear at them with their claws, leaving their marks, try to look for food under the bark and in the wood, and finally play with small logs. And out of boredom, bears begin to interact with visitors. For example, our bear sits on her hind legs and starts waving at people with her front legs. Everyone around is happy and throws a wide variety of objects into her enclosure, most often food. Some of the abandoned food is eaten, some are simply sniffed - the animal is full. Scientists believe that in this way the bear is not just begging for food or making its environment more diverse, it begins to control the behavior of visitors: if he waved, he was given something tasty. This relieves the stress of being kept in a small enclosure and living according to a certain routine. But still There is no need to feed the animals in the zoo - their diets are balanced, and much of what we eat is harmful to them.

Very often in the spring and first half of summer, phone calls are heard at the zoo - people want to give birth to cubs found in the forest. We urge everyone who sees a bear cub in the forest - do not take it! The mother is most likely somewhere nearby, she can come to the defense of her cub, and this is very dangerous for you! The baby could have been driven away by an adult male caring for the bear, but you never know what reasons other than the death of the bear could have brought the cub to people. A bear that comes into contact with a person is doomed to be killed or spend its life in captivity. A bear cub left alone in the forest at the age of 5-6 months (July-August) has a very good chance of surviving and living free. Don't deprive him of this chance!

Eurasia north to the tree line, south to the Himalayas, Mediterranean Sea and North-West Africa, North America west of 90° W. d., north almost to the northern tip of the continent, south to Mexico.

The range in the USSR (restored) occupies the entire forest and partly the forest-steppe and steppe zone, the eastern tundra, the Caucasus and the mountainous regions of Central Asia. It makes up a significant part of the species' range (about half) and occupies most of the territory of the USSR.

Within the USSR, the range consists of three more or less isolated main parts - the main European-Siberian massif associated with forests, partly forest-steppe and steppe, the Caucasus, mainly mountain-forest region, and the Central Asian part, where bears live in the mountains, partly treeless . All these three parts are connected or connected in the past outside our country in the south - the Caucasian with the European-Siberian through Asia Minor, the Central Asian with the other two through Iran, Afghanistan and China. Over the course of historical time, the range of the brown bear has changed greatly due to its reduction. In the past, the isolation of individual parts of our range, including the European-Siberian and Central Asian parts, was less. Obviously, there was some kind of contact in the east of Kazakhstan, and in distant times also in the western Ciscaucasia.

The habitat has changed significantly in recent decades and is changing quite quickly before our eyes. For this reason, more or less accurately establishing the boundaries of the animal’s distribution is impossible in many cases. In addition, in some areas in the north, brown bears roam very widely and it is difficult to distinguish between the area of ​​normal permanent habitat, the area of ​​regular visits and the area of ​​rare, especially distant visits.

The northern border of the bear's distribution in the European-Siberian part of its range, generally speaking, is associated with the northern border of the forest and forest-tundra. There the bear is rare, although in some parts it stays constantly and visits regularly. Animals enter the tundra almost everywhere, mainly in its southern parts, but in some places they penetrate quite far to the north.

On Kola Peninsula The area of ​​permanent habitat of the animal does not reach the Murmansk coast. Granite passes at the latitude of Murmansk and stretches to the mouth of the Ponoy on the eastern shore of the peninsula. Stray animals in summer time they go out into the tundra and in the north and east they reach the seashore. There are no bears on the Solovetsky Islands and, obviously, there never were. Further to the east, the border covers the very lower reaches and mouth of the Mezen, the southernmost part of Kania (mainly the entrances) and runs along the southern border and southern edge of the Timan, Malozemelskaya and Bolshezemelskaya tundra, reaching the very lower reaches of the Pechora. In the area between Kanin and Pechora in the summer, bears go far into the tundra and even reach the seashore.

In the Northern Urals, the brown bear normally lives at 65° N and is also found in the tundra up to 67° N. w. Further to the east, the border goes to the very lower reaches and mouth of the Ob, reaching it approximately at the latitude of the Arctic Circle near Salekhard. From here the border goes along the southern coast of the Ob Bay or slightly retreating from it. In any case, in the summer the animals live all the way to the coast. Further to the east, the border of the permanent habitat area forms an arcuate line, rising slightly to the north, and reaches the mouth of the Taz River into the Tazovskaya Bay. In the area between the Taz and Yenisei rivers, the border still rises to the north, capturing Bolshaya and Malaya Kheta, and reaches the Yenisei at Dudinka (69°30′ N).

In the space between the Northern Urals and the Yenisei, the northern border of the area of ​​irregular habitat and entry goes through the sources of the Usa (about 68° N), slightly north of Lake. Yarro and through Cape Kamenny (about 68°30′ N latitude) on Yamal, along the northern shore of the Tazovsky Peninsula (about 69° N latitude) across the top of the river. Gydy on the Gydan Peninsula (70°30′ N) and still rises on the left bank of the Yenisei to the level of Tolstoy Nos (70°15′ N) and even further north (Shirokaya Bay). The delineated area occupies not only the entire forest-tundra, but also a significant part of the southern tundra.

From the mouth of the Yenisei, the border goes to the mouth of the Khatanga, capturing the basin of Lake Pyasinsky (69°30′ N), the Kheta basin and, to the left, the tributaries of the Dudypta (Kamennaya) to 71°30′ N. w. and leaving for Khatanga at 72°30′ N. w. (R. Novaya). On Taimyr, therefore, the area of ​​more or less regular habitation and short-term access (it is difficult to distinguish between them) goes farthest to the north and covers the real tundra. This is also where the farthest approaches extend farthest to the north.

Further east, the border is very poorly defined. It can be considered that it goes along the very lower reaches of Olenek, Lena, Omolon, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma, passing along the mouth of the latter. On the Lena, bear dens, although rare, are found near Bulun (70°30′) and Kumakh-Surt (71°30′) not far from the beginning of the delta. The bear visits to the north - at Cape Bykovsky (72°N latitude). Throughout the entire indicated area of ​​Central and part of Eastern Siberia, the border of the range generally runs along the border of crooked forest and tundra, and the strip of crooked forest also serves as an area of ​​normal habitat for the animal, and the tundra area is mainly a summer habitat.

East of Kolyma, the border of the range goes significantly north of the tundra border, passing along the northern slope of the Anadyr Range and reaching the Pacific Ocean somewhere in the middle part of the Chukotka Peninsula (north of the Gulf of the Cross).

Summarizing the data presented, we can assume that the northern border of the bear’s normal sedentary residence runs (except in the northeast of Siberia) along the northern border of the forest. However, in the summer, animals (mainly, apparently, males) roam quite widely and, in fact, enter everywhere into the southern tundra, and in fact, the border, strictly speaking, is located in this zone. In addition to this regular phenomenon, there are longer movements of the animal to the north over a distance of tens and even hundreds of kilometers. In addition to the above mentioned approaches in the European part of the country and in Western Siberia, particularly distant approaches are known in Taimyr to 73° and even to Taimyr Lake at 74° and to the ocean in Yakutia.

The eastern border of the range is formed by the coast Pacific Ocean to the southern borders of the state. Bears are found on Karagip Island, Shumshu and Paramushir from the northern Kuril Islands and on Kunashiri and Iturup from the southern ones (not on the rest), on Sakhalin and the Shantar Islands. The northern and eastern border of the range is still the same as described, and obviously has not changed significantly in recent centuries. On the island of Shumshu the bear, however, Lately disappeared.

The southern (restored) border of the range in our country, from the Pacific Ocean to Altai and Tarbagatai, coincides with the state border. There is no animal and, obviously, there was no animal in the steppes of the southeastern and, probably, southwestern Transbaikalia. This border over the last century significant changes, apparently, did not suffer.

From Tarbagatan, in a general direction to the northwest, the border goes through the steppes of Kazakhstan to the Urals. It covers the Kazakh small hill (Kazakh folded country) from the south, passing somewhere in the middle between Karkaralinsk and the northern shore of Balkhash. Further, crossing the Nura and the upper reaches of Ishim, the border covers the Kokchetav Highlands from the south and goes west to the upper reaches of the Tobol, crossing them a little south of Kustanai (Ara-Karagai forest). From here the border line, bypassing the habitats of the animal in the bay from the south. Troitsky district (Kaban-Karagay), goes to the upper reaches of the Ayat (a tributary of the Tobol, flowing above Kustanai), and from here to the Ural valley, approximately to Orsk. The habitat of brown bears here, in particular, was noted near Rossypnaya and Nizhne-Ozernaya (below Orenburg). Along the Ural valley the bear was distributed as far as Uralsk.

In the delineated steppe and forest-steppe part of Kazakhstan, the bear was distributed only sporadically. He stayed in island forests, forests and mountain areas (small hills) with tree and shrub vegetation and even without it. The brown bear lived in some parts of Kazakhstan back in the 18th century. (the sources of the Nura south of Karkaralinsk, Ara-Karagay), in others it existed until the beginning of the 20th century. (Sapdyktau, Kokchetav Mountains near Borovoye). It is possible that in more distant times the bear was distributed further south than is now known and described here. Thus, it is possible to live in Ulutau, although there is no information about this, and in some other places in the south. It is interesting that the entire outlined border runs along the steppe zone, in the east very close to the border of the semi-desert and desert zones.

The bear's habitat in Kazakhstan is the southern edge of the central and western Siberian part of its range. However, in the steppe and forest-steppe of Western Siberia there have been no bears for a long time, and it is difficult to trace how the range retreated here. Apparently, in Kazakhstan, the bear persisted in some places even when it was no longer present in large areas to the north.

The modern (50s) line of the southern border of the range in Western Siberia cannot be delineated sufficiently accurately due to lack of information. In Altai, animals are found everywhere, including the southernmost basin of the lake. Markakol and up to the Zaisan depression (not in the depression itself), in the Narym ridge and in the Kalbip Altai (left bank of the Irtysh). Then it goes along the border of more or less continuous high-trunk forests, that is, along the northern foothills of Altai, covering this mountainous country in an arc, bypassing the Kuznetsk Alatau from the west and from the north, going to Tomsk and from here to Novosibirsk. Bypassing the Barabinskaya steppe from the north and passing a little north of Lake Chany, the border of the range crosses the Irtysh a little south of 56° N. sh., Ishim - a little north of this degree, goes to Tyumen and goes to the Ural ridge, covering the Sverdovsk region a little north and west (45-50 km) of the city. In the Urals, the bear's habitat descends in a large cape to the south, reaching 52° N. sh., in the east capturing the sources of the Urals. Thus, in Western Siberia, the modern range of the brown bear no longer occupies the steppe and forest-steppe, and its southern border runs along the southern parts of the forest (taiga) zone. In some parts of Siberia, for example in the Baikal region, significant spaces have formed in some places within the range where the bear, which until relatively recently was a fairly common species, disappeared completely or almost completely. This, unfortunately, is facilitated by the attitude towards the bear as a predator, the hunt for which is not limited in any way.

In the European part of the Union in the south, the natural range of the brown bear occupied not only the entire southern part of the modern forest zone, but also the forest-steppe strip and extended far into the modern steppes.

Between the Volga and the Urals, animals were found in Kinel, Samara and Zhiguli. The southern border, however, lay further south. Walking from the river Ural (Uralsk), it apparently covered General Syrt and its southern spurs, went to the Irgiz and along it to the Volga. And in this area, animals were thus quite widespread in the steppe zone. In some places the bears probably went further south than indicated.

The distribution of the animal along the Volga valley has not been clarified, but it probably traveled quite far to the south along the urem lands, since it was apparently quite widespread in the forest-steppe and steppe zone in the Don basin. Here the animals lived throughout the Medveditsa to the mouth and along its tributaries Tersa, Knyazevka, Karamysh, Idolga, Kamyshley. Along the Don itself, bears were found not only in the north (Shipov forest near Pavlovsk), but also much lower - near the village of Starogrigorievskaya, at the mouth of the Khopr and Medveditsa, and even in the Kletskaya area. Along the Donets, bears lived mainly in the north - near Chuguev, Zmiev and in other places to the south and southeast and southwest of Kharkov, but even in the area of ​​​​the mouth of Oskol they reached places near present-day Lugansk.

To the west, the animals were distributed in the Chernigov and Kyiv regions and near Poltava. The exact distribution of the beast along the left bank of the Dnieper is unknown, however, it probably descended to the south much further than Poltava. It can be assumed that the border of the range from the Donets went to the Dnieper approximately to Zaporozhye. In the south of the right bank of the Dnieper there are indications of the presence of brown bears in the Black Forest near Kirovograd, in the Savran steppe southeast of Balta at the mouth of the Samotkan River and even in the steppes near Ochakov, in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and near Perekop, i.e. bears were widespread to the shores of the Black Sea.

Thus, in the European part of the Union, bears were distributed not only in the forest-steppe, but were also widely found in the steppe zone, especially, apparently, in its western part.

In the west, the brown bear's range in the past reached Baltic Sea and to the southwestern foothills of the Carpathians - to the Pannonian Lowland.

Information about Uralsk, the Volga, the Don basin and the Black Forest dates back to the 18th century, information about Balta, the lower Dnieper, Ochakov and Perekop from the 16th - 17th centuries. Known bear fossils from Crimea date back to the Pleistocene.

The described southern restored border of the brown bear's range in the European part of the Union, in contrast to the northern one, has changed very much over the past centuries and has moved northward by hundreds of kilometers - in some places up to almost 1000, and maybe more. The process of habitat reduction has been very intensive in the 20th century, especially in recent decades.

The boundary has not changed so quickly in the entire history of the species. Not only the lack of accurate data, but no less the indicated circumstance does not allow us to draw the modern southern border of the range with sufficient accuracy - it changes before our eyes from year to year. It has changed more and, apparently, faster than the southern border in Siberia.

In the 40s and 50s of our century (before 1960), the southern border of the distribution of the brown bear in the Urals and in the European part of the country can be outlined as follows. Beginning on the eastern slope of the Urals, approximately 50 km west of Sverdlovsk, it runs due south along the eastern edge of the forests of the Urals, occupying a ridge south to approximately 52° N. w. (Shaitantau). From here the border turns sharply to the north, limiting the Ural “cape” of the range from the west. The border runs along the foothills of the Urals, without crossing Belaya to the west. Somewhere in the area of ​​60° N. w. it turns sharply to the west, separating the northeastern part of the Perm region, where the bear still exists, from the rest, in which the beast has already been destroyed. The western direction of the border soon gives way to the southwest and again to the west - the border, going down to the lower Kama, goes around it from the north and crosses the lower reaches of the Vyatka, thus bypassing the Tatar Republic from the north. There have been no bears here as a permanent resident since the late 20s - early 30s, although individual visits from the north-west (from the Mari Republic) took place back in the 40s, 50s and even 60s. Entering animals are hunted almost immediately.

Having crossed the Volga, apparently, somewhere in the region of 48° E. etc., the border goes steeply to the south, capturing the forests of the Sura basin and descending here quite far to the south to approximately 54° N. w. From here the border, bending slightly to the north, goes at the level of Temnikov in the Mordovian Republic, moves west to Moksha and through the forests of the Tsna basin gives a long, very narrow cape to the south. This cape, however, does not reach Tambov. These data refer to recent decades, but in 1960 there were apparently no bears in the forests of Tsna and Moksha, except for the Sarov forests (Zametchinsky district).

From the area of ​​the Moksha mouth, the border goes somewhere along the left bank of the Oka, retreating from it, then steeply descends to the south, making a loop that captures the Ryazan Meshchera. The southern border of this loop runs along the river. Pre. From Pra the border turns sharply to the north, and, first passing through the regions Vladimir region, surrounds Moskovskaya from the east, north and west.

In the Moscow region, brown bears were quite widespread until recently and lived not far from Moscow. In 1891, a bear raised from a den by wolves was killed near Pushkin (about 30 km from Moscow along the Northern Railway). Back in the 20s, animals constantly stayed in the bay. b. Bogorodsky (Noginsk), Dmitrovsky and Klinsky districts (east, northeast and north of the region). In the 20s, they were still found in the then Dolgolugovsky forestry, which included vast forests near Khotkov, Sofrin and Pushkin (Northern railway - between Moscow and Zagorsk); they were also found in the forests near Zagorsk and to the north. Bears began to rapidly disappear in the 30s and in the 40s and 50s they were no longer permanent residents of the area; very rarely they appeared entering from the north along Dubna or from Meshchera into the forests near Shatura, that is, from the east and southeast. The last such approach took place on December 7, 1960, exclusively warm winter, when the connecting rod was killed in the forests near Lukhovitsy.

It is impossible to establish any exact position of the border in the regions of Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, Kalinin. Apparently, the range includes the western parts of the Oryol region and, perhaps, Kapuzhskaya, since in the 50s it included the entire Bryansk region, except for its southernmost parts (Brasovsky, Sevsky, Novozybkovsky, Klimovsky, Klintsovsky and Starodubsky forestry enterprises). In the Vladimir region in the 50s there were no longer bears.

In Belarus, where until recently the animal was widespread and almost everywhere, already in 1950-1951. it was found only in the northern regions. The border ran north of Mogilev and northeast of Minsk, and then turned sharply to the northwest and north and went through the areas of Borisov, Pleschenitsy, Begoml, Donshchitsa, Glubokoye, and Markovshchina. A small habitat of the animal, separated from the North Belarusian one, is located in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Further north, the border, apparently capturing the westernmost outskirts of Latvia (there are no bears in Lithuania now), goes to Estonia. Here the bear was quite widespread back in 1960, found west of the line Pärnu (Gulf of Riga) - Cape Juminda (Gulf of Finland) and reaching north to the Gulf of Finland, and in the south to 58° N. w. A separate habitat, recently connected to the main one, is located northeast of Hapsalu.

From northern Estonia, a short distance from the coast of the Gulf of Finland, the border goes east to Leningrad. In the west of the Leningrad region, the range includes the areas of Luga, Slantsev, and Kingissep. Surrounding Leningrad from the south and east, the border goes through Gatchina (about 40 km from Leningrad), Vyritsa (60 km), Tosno (about 60 km), Lisino (45-50 km along the highway to Moscow), MGU (about 40 km) , goes to the shore of Lake Ladoga and, surrounding it, passes into Karelia. There are no animals on the Karelian Isthmus. The western border of the range in Karelia and to the north is the state border.

Within the area limited by the indicated line of the southern border, the distribution of the animal is very uneven and, along with areas where the population is in a more or less normal state, there are significant spaces where it is sparse (western and eastern parts of the Leningrad region) or animals are very rare or appear only approaching In large areas within the range there are no bears at all. It is not possible to characterize different parts of the range from this side, not only due to the lack of information in the literature, but also because the distribution and number of bears changes in a negative direction very quickly - literally over individual years. So, if at the beginning of the century it was still common in some places in northern regions Ukraine, then by the end of the 40s there were only entries of single animals from Belarus into the northern parts of the Chernigov, Zhitomir and Volyn regions, and later even this disappeared; in Belarus, until recently the animal was distributed almost everywhere, but at present its range is limited to the described northern part, etc.

Indicative is the picture of changes in the distribution, part of the number, of bears at the southern border of the modern range, which was drawn by a special survey conducted in 24 middle regions in 1962. These are the regions from the upper Dnieper in the west (the border of Belarus) to the Kama in the east. Within this territory, the bear lives only in large areas forest areas, therefore the southern border of its distribution quite accurately coincides with the modern border of large forest areas. In the Smolensk region, the border runs along the right bank of the Dnieper, and in the vicinity of Dorogobuzh a small number of bears are found in the swamp-rich forests of the left bank of the Dnieper. From Dorogobuzh the border rises north-northeast to the village. Sychevka, from here it goes along the left bank of the Volga to Kalinin, and then to Bezhetsk and east to Uglich and Tutaev. Further, the border goes again along the right bank of the Volga to Zelenodolsk (Tataria), from where it rises northeast to Malmyzh, Vyatskie Polyany and Izhevsk.

North of this line in specified time The bear is found everywhere, but in the south there were only a few isolated areas of its habitat:

1) forest area between the cities of Kostyukevichi, Kletnya and Roslavl within the Bryansk and Smolensk regions (up to 10-15 individuals);
2) forest area along the left bank of the Desna, in the interfluve of the Zhizdra and Resseta rivers and at the sources of the river. Vytebet within the Bryansk, Kaluga and Oryol regions (from 20 to 30 animals);
3) Meshchera forest on the left bank of the Oka in Ryazan region(5-10 animals);
4) forest along the banks of the Tsna, the middle reaches of the Moksha and the right bank of the Oka within the Tambov, Penza, Ryazan, Gorky regions and the Mordovian Republic (30-40 bears);
5) forest area along the right bank of the Sura in Chuvash Republic(15-20 animals);
6) forest on the right bank of the Kuibyshev Reservoir south of the town of Tetyushi (in 1960 there was a mother bear and her cub).

In the 60s, the entry of a bear into the Taldomsky district of the Moscow region was noted by garter guards in the Vladimir region.

As of 1960, as a remnant of a vast range in the European part of the Union, there is a fairly large, completely isolated habitat of the honeyeater in the Carpathians within our country. It is a narrow strip stretching in a northwesterly direction from the Romanian border (from a place southwest of Chernivtsi) and almost to the state border with Poland south of Drohobych. This is a higher and densely forested region of the Carpathians within the Transcarpathian, Chernivtsi and Lviv regions. In particular, the range includes Chornohory, Gorgany, Beskydy (Borzhavska meadow) and other places. This site represents an extension of the bear's range in Romania.

In historical times on our territory, the Caucasian part of the bear’s range apparently did not connect with the European-Siberian part. The connection was carried out through Central Europe, the Balkans and Asia Minor. In the Holocene, however, there was communication between northern populations of bears from the Caucasus and through the steppe region. Bears undoubtedly lived along the urems of the southern Russian rivers and rivers of the northwestern Ciscaucasia and the steppe ravines and reeds of this region. In the lower reaches of the Don, animals were found even in the 8th-13th centuries. Some features of the geographical variability of Caucasian bears also indicate past direct connections between Caucasian bears and Russians.

In the past, the range covered all forest areas of the country, i.e., essentially the entire Caucasus - Greater and Lesser, as well as Western Transcaucasia from high altitudes to sea level 3. There were no animals only in the steppe regions of Eastern Transcaucasia, although through the tugai forests of the Kura they penetrated into treeless areas at least to the level of Alazani; maybe they met along some other rivers. It is possible that there were no bears in some desert treeless places in the mountains of internal Dagestan, in the desert spaces of the Yerevan basin and, perhaps, in some other, relatively small areas.

According to the Main Caucasus ridge the range in the west began at Anapa and in the east reached the Caspian coast - to the forests in the foothills of Dagestan and the forests along Samur in its lower reaches and mouth. It occupied all the forests of the northern foothills and foothills to Maykop, Pyatigorye (Zheleznovodsk), Nalchik, Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz) and Khasavyurt. Its range also included forest areas of the Stavropol Upland.

To date, the range of the brown bear in the Caucasus has decreased, in some places significantly. Partly this happened in the last century, partly and even mainly in our century - in the second quarter of it. There is no bear in Pyatigorye (he only comes here occasionally), the border has been pulled back, partly due to large clearings, from the northern foothills, the bear is now not near Maykop, it has almost disappeared from Kabarda and Balkaria, near Khasavyurt, etc. The animal has disappeared from many regions of Western Transcaucasia (Colchis), the area of ​​its habitat in Armenia has somewhat decreased. The bear is nowhere to be found in the steppe Transcaucasia, it is almost never found in Talysh, etc.

In the steppe Transcaucasia near Stavropol, it disappeared much more than 100 years ago; along the Black Sea coast, animals were found almost to the sea even today; near Khasavyurt it lived in the 900s and 10s, and in the early 20s it was found in the forests of the foothills (“Black Mountains”) is positively a few kilometers from Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz). Almost everywhere, especially in the Lesser Caucasus, the number of animals has decreased. There is very little accurate data on the modern distribution of brown bears in the Caucasus. In general, its range is steadily declining due to direct persecution and forest loss.

In Central Asia, the bear's habitat is associated with the mountains, and in some places the bear lives in places where there are only sparse thickets of tree-like junipers or pistachios, or shrubs along the gorges, while in some places it lives in completely treeless, even deserted mountains. The restored range in Central Asia and Semirechye occupies the Saurs, Tarabagatai, Dzungarian Alatau and the entire Tien Shan system, including the western ranges and Karatau. Further, the range includes all the ranges of the Pamir-Alai system to the west to the western parts of the Turkestan, Gissar and Darvaz ranges. In Kugitangtau and Babatag and in some other uplands of the interfluves of the right tributaries of the Amu Darya, the bear, apparently, did not exist from time immemorial, or at least for a long time. Apparently, the Nurata Mountains were not included in the range. In Turkmenistan, the range was occupied by Kopet-Dag, but in the Big Balkhan, in the mountains along the right bank of the upper Tedzhen (Gyaz-Gyadyk) and in the mountains east of Kushka (Mount Chengurek) there were no bears.

Due to lack of information, the current habitat of the bear in Central Asia cannot be covered in more detail. Compared to what was described, it has undoubtedly changed over the last century and especially over the last decades - the total area of ​​its range has decreased, and significant “gaps” have appeared in it, but the animal is still found, apparently, in most of the ridges where it lived before. He, however, is no longer in Karatau, and he has disappeared or is found only very rarely entering from Iran in Kopet-Dag.

Range outside the USSR. In Asia, the restored habitat occupies the island of Hokkaido, the Korean Peninsula and Northeast China, in addition to its central steppe spaces, i.e. mainly the Greater Khingan, Ilkhuri-Alin, Lesser Khingan mountains, the East Manchurian Mountains, Changbai Shan, Kentei-Alin , Laoeling, Zhangguangcailing. In the Mongolian Republic, the range occupies the Khentei ridge in the north, the near-Sologol part of the country to the south to approximately 48°30′ N. w. and the region bordering the USSR but on the left bank of the river. Selenga. In China, in the far west, the range occupies the eastern part of the Tien Shan country, in Kashgaria and Dzungaria, in particular, the Borokhoro Mountains near Barkul. From here the range extends to the Trans-Altai Gobi and the Gobi and south-eastern parts of the Mongolian Altai in the Mongolia.

Further, the range includes all of Tibet, including Nanshan and Tsaidam, the region in the south of the great bend of the Yellow River (the Qinling and northern mountains), apparently also northern and western Sichuan. The question of the habitat of the brown bear in the eastern part of China, east of the indicated limits remain open. It is possible that it once existed here, but culture has long erased all natural relations here to such an extent that it is impossible to find out.

In the south, the bear's Central Asian range covers the Himalayas, including Nepal, Kumaon, Kashmir with the Karakoram and northern Punjab and Waziristan. The described beast apparently does not penetrate further south (to Balochistan). In the east, it does not go to Burma (information about living in the Shan country has not been confirmed).

In Afghanistan, the range occupies areas associated with the Pamirs (Badakhshan, Wakhan) and the Hindu Kush. Details are not known. In Iran, the range occupies, on one side, the very north of the country - forest areas associated with Elburz, and stretches in a strip from Talysh to Koyet-Dag. On the other hand, it runs with a wide cape from northern Iran to the southeast along the western and southwestern parts of the country through Luristan approximately to Shiraz. The described species is not found in central, southern and eastern Iran. The range occupies all of Asia Minor (mountainous parts), the mountainous regions of northern and western Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.

In Europe beyond our borders, the restored range occupies, in essence, the entire continent to the very north, to the west including England and Ireland; to the south it reached everywhere to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, including the Apennine and Iberian peninsulas. There were no bears in Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, as well as on the islands of the eastern part of the sea. In Africa, the bear occupied the Atlas Mountains.

In North America, the brown bear's (restored) range occupies the western half of the continent approximately west of 90° W. e. The southern border of the range, starting along the Pacific coast, includes the northern part of the California Peninsula in the range. On the mainland, going some distance from the coast of the Gulf of California, it descends along the Mexican Plateau to the southern part of the province of Durango at approximately 22° N. w. This is the southernmost point of the animal's habitat in the New World. From here the border, outlining this southern cape from the east, goes north through northeastern Mexico (Coahuila province) to Texas (USA), leaving its western part within the range. Extending further north, the border leaves western Oklahoma and most of Kansas in its range, runs due north through the western edges of Iowa and Minnesota and through eastern Manitoba to the shores of Hudson Bay at Churchill. Continuing north along the western shore of the bay, the border somewhere near Chesterfield turns northwest and reaches the northern coast of the mainland. Along it, in some places at some distance from it, the border goes west, passes to the coast of the Bering Sea and, capturing the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island, along the Pacific coast goes south to the above-mentioned place in California. The range apparently does not include that part of the territory projecting to the west, lying north of Bristol Bay, which contains the lower reaches of the Yukon and Kuskokwim. Brown bear is listed for St. Lawrence Island and Unimak in the Bering Sea; missing on others. There are apparently no brown bears on Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands either.

The current range of the bear is very different from the outlined one and constitutes only a smaller part of it. At the same time, the area was divided into separate, relatively small, some very small, areas, completely separated from each other. Throughout the entire delineated range, only a few more or less large areas of the animal’s habitat remain. The largest of them is the European-Siberian one within the USSR, the Central Asian one is quite large, and there is a significant area in North America.

Currently in Europe, bears remain in Norway, Sweden and Finland, in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, in the Cantabrian Mountains in Spain, in the Italian Alps, in the middle part of the Apennines, in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, the European part Turkey. They are most common in Scandinavia, partly in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, especially in Romania. In the rest of the named countries, animals are very few in number, some of them only have single specimens. In Africa, the bear was completely exterminated a long time ago.

In Asia outside the borders of our country, the brown bear has survived only in Asia Minor (in some places), northern Iraq and in the indicated places in Iran. It has been exterminated in Japan. The range on the Korean Peninsula and the Mongolian Republic has shrunk and is shrinking. The part of the range that occupies Tibet and areas adjacent to the Himalayas is still large.

In America, the range has shrunk very much. The animal is still widespread in Alaska, northern and western Canada (except Manitoba), but in the United States it is found, in essence, only in Rocky Mountains ah in the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. A separate habitat is located far to the south on the Mexican plateau. Obviously, a further reduction in the range and number of the animal is inevitable.

Currently, there are 3 types of bears in nature:
- white,
- brown,
- black.

These species include a large number of small subspecies, and researchers do not have a consensus on the classification. So, if previously the grizzly bear was identified as a separate species, now it is classified as a subspecies of brown bears.

The bear is one of the most dangerous predators of the mammalian genus.

Habitat

Bears are found in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa. They can easily adapt to different climatic conditions, and therefore this animal can be found in the steppes, forests, highlands and ice of the Arctic. Bears live in different parts of the planet also due to the fact that they eat a wide variety of foods; their diet includes meat, fish, berries, herbs, and various roots.

White bears

White, or polar, bears are common in the ice of the Arctic Ocean. However, seasonal melting and freezing of ice forces it to move north or south of the polar edge. In the summer, polar bears usually drift on large and small ice floes.

Polar bears distributed in Russia, in particular in Central Siberia, Canada, Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land.

Brown bears

Previously, brown bears, including grizzlies, lived in European forests. However, today they remain only in the wooded areas of Russia, Finland, Scandinavia, Romania, Yugoslavia, and less often in the forests of Spain, Italy and the Pyrenees. Grizzly bears still exist in Canada, Alaska, as well as in the western part of America and east coast Pacific Ocean.

As for Asia, the brown bear is found on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, in the northern part of China, in Palestine, Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus, the Far East and the Korean Peninsula. Brown bears and grizzlies most often choose dense forests bordering swampy areas and ponds as their habitat.

Black bears

The baribal, otherwise known as the black bear, is found in the eastern United States and Canada. The Himalayan bear lives in the Himalayan mountains, in the northern part of Pakistan, Vietnam, in the southern part of Afghanistan, China, and maybe even in Thailand.

Conservation status: Least endangered species.
Listed in the IUCN Red List

Few animals capture the human imagination as much as the brown bear. They are priority inhabitants of the animal world, which are so necessary to preserve. Given their dependence on large territorial areas, brown bears are an important part of the control of a number of other animals.

The brown bear is one of the largest predators among animals. On average, adult males are 8-10% larger than females, but sizes vary depending on the species' habitat. Brown bears feed in the morning and evening, and during the daytime they prefer to rest under dense vegetation. Depending on the time of year, brown bears can travel hundreds of kilometers to search for food.

Hibernation

Hibernation lasts from October-December to March-May. In some southern regions, the duration of hibernation is very short or completely absent. The brown bear chooses a place for itself, for example, a hole, which is located on a protected slope under a large stone or among the roots of a large tree. The same hibernation sites can be used for many years.

Dimensions

The brown bear, not the largest among the bear family, takes the lead. However, this species can reach enormous sizes - males weigh about 350-450 kilograms, and females average 200 kilograms. There are individuals whose mass exceeds half a ton.

Color

Although the coat is usually dark brown, other colors are also found - from cream to almost black. Color depends on habitat. In the Rocky Mountains (USA), brown bears have long hair on their shoulders and back.

Habitats

Brown bears live in a variety of habitats from the edges of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, brown bears are found in mountain forests, in Siberia their main habitat is forests, and in North America they prefer alpine meadows and coasts. The main requirement for this species is the presence of dense vegetation in which a brown bear can find shelter during the daytime.

Life cycle

Newborn bears are vulnerable because they are born blind, without hair, and weighing only 340-680 grams. The cubs grow very quickly and reach 25 kilograms at 6 months. The lactation period lasts 18-30 months. The cubs usually remain with their mother until their third or fourth year of life. Despite the fact that sexual maturity occurs at 4-6 years, the brown bear continues to grow and develop until 10-11 years. In the wild they can live from 20 to 30 years, but despite this life expectancy, most die at an early age.

Reproduction

Mating in brown bears occurs in the warm months (May-July). Pregnancy lasts 180-266 days, and the birth of cubs occurs in January-March; as a rule, at this time the females are in hibernation. Usually 2-3 cubs are born from one female. The next offspring can be expected in 2-4 years.

Nutrition

Brown bears are omnivores, and their diet varies depending on the time of year - from grass in the spring, berries and apples in the summer, to nuts and plums in the fall. Throughout the year, they feed on roots, insects, mammals (including moose and wapiti from the Canadian Rockies), reptiles and, of course, honey. In Alaska, during the summer, bears feed on salmon going to spawn.

Population and distribution

The total population of brown bears on the planet is about 200,000 individuals, with Russia home to the largest number - close to 100,000 individuals.

Scientists believe that 8,000 brown bears live in Western Europe (Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania). There are also suggestions that the species can be found in Palestine, Eastern Siberia and the Himalayan regions. Possible habitats are considered to be the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa and the island of Hokkaido, located in Japan.

Brown bears are still quite common in the mountainous regions of western Canada and Alaska, where their numbers can reach 30,000 individuals. There are fewer than 1,000 brown bears left in other parts of the United States.

Historical distribution

Previously, the brown bear was distributed throughout Northern and Central Europe, Asia, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria, and the western part of North America south to Mexico. Before the arrival of European settlers, the species lived on the Great Plains of North America. Populations from the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains were extirpated, and those remaining in northern Mexico died in the 1960s. In the early 1900s, there were approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States.

Main threats

Brown bears are hunted as large hunting trophies, as well as for meat and skins. Bear gall bladders have a high value in the Asian market, as they are popularly believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Meaning beneficial properties Products obtained from bear body parts do not have medical support, but the demand for them is growing every year.

Other major threats include habitat destruction and persecution. These problems affect the brown bear population to varying degrees, but extend across the entire habitat.

For example, currently, brown bears can be found in only 2% of the previously inhabited territory. Forestry, mining, road construction and other human activities have contributed to the decline in bear numbers due to extermination natural environment a habitat.

In some countries, human-bear conflict occurs, which creates a number of problems, especially in areas where the brown bear encounters livestock, gardens, water supplies and garbage cans.

Video

The brown bear is a widespread and best-known member of the bear family. Its scientific name Ursus arctos is composed of Latin and Greek words, meaning "bear".

Subspecies and habitats of brown bears

The brown bear's range once extended as far south as North Africa and Central Mexico. In the Middle Ages, the beast inhabited almost all of Europe, including the Mediterranean and the British Isles. Today, due to overfishing, habitat destruction and road construction, the population has decreased significantly.

Today, brown bears are common in Russia, northwestern North America, Scandinavia, and Japan. They are also found in isolated areas of Southern and of Eastern Europe, China, Mongolia, the Himalayas, as well as in the mountainous areas of some Middle Eastern countries. There is even a small population in the mountains of the Mongolian Gobi Desert. However, the favorite habitats of brown bears are dense, remote settlements, forests where windbreaks and shrubs are abundant. In America they inhabit wooded mountains.

Previously, the species was so variable and widespread that it was divided into dozens of subspecies (some of them became extinct); some of them were considered species. However, now they are all combined into a single species, which includes several subspecies. The most famous of them include the following.

Common (European)

This subspecies is found in Europe, the Caucasus and Russia throughout the forest zone, except for the south of the European part of the country. It has medium sizes.

This large subspecies of brown bear is widespread in Alaska and western Canada.

Kodiak

One of the largest predators in the world. Inhabits from Kodiak and Shuyak islands to Alaska.

Syrian

One of the smallest species of brown bears. It is found in the mountains of the Middle East, as well as in Turkey, Syria and Iran.

Tien Shan

This relatively small bear is one of the smallest in numbers. Found in the Tien Shan, Himalaya and Pamir mountains.

Description of a brown bear

The size of the brown bear is very individual and depends primarily on its geographical habitat. The body length of the animal is from 1.5 to 2.8 meters, the height at the withers is 0.9-1.5 m, the weight of males is 135-545 kg. Sometimes there are males whose body length reaches three meters and weighs up to 700 kg. The largest individuals live on Kodiak Island (USA), on the coast of Alaska, and in Russia - in Kamchatka. In the European part of Russia, brown bears weighing 250-300 kg are most often encountered. Females are much smaller: their average weight is 90-250 kg. The weight of these animals also depends on the time of year - in the fall they are the most well-fed, since for successful winter hibernation they need to thoroughly stock up on subcutaneous fat.

The body of the drill bear is very powerful, the withers are high and muscular; the head is massive with a wide forehead, the eyes are small, the ears are round, the tail 5-20 cm long is almost invisible under a layer of fur. The animal's fur is thick, the most long hair They grow on the withers and on the back of the body; they are shorter on the head and paws.

Although our hero is called brown, he is not always painted exactly this color. In nature, you can meet black, light gray, straw yellow and even silver (grizzly bears in North America) individuals. Cubs of the same litter can have different colors.

The bear's build is heavy, awkward, and in order to support large mass, his paws are plantigrade (when walking, the entire sole is pressed to the ground). This same feature allows him to freely rise and stand on his hind legs. On each paw it has 5 fingers, armed with curved non-retractable claws, the length of which can reach 10 cm.

Nature did not reward clubfoot with acute hearing and vision, but compensated for this with an excellent sense of smell. When the animal stands on its hind legs, using its sense of smell, it tries to obtain more information about the surrounding environment.

How do brown bears live in nature?

Bears prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle. In search of food, they wander around their vast areas. On the mainland, these areas can be 200-2000 sq. km for males and 100-1000 sq. km for females. Individual territory is vigilantly guarded from the invasion of strangers, and if some clubfoot encroaches on someone else's property, a clash cannot be avoided. Adult males can cause serious injuries to each other during territorial fights.

Diet

The brown bear, unlike its fellow polar bear, cannot be called a predator in the full sense of the word. On the contrary, about 75% of its diet consists of plant foods. These are nuts, berries, tubers and stems of herbaceous plants, seeds, acorns, etc.

Thanks to its muscular withers and huge claws, the clubfoot is better suited for digging small mammals, insects and underground parts of plants. Strong jaw muscles also allow the animal to more easily handle fibrous foods and survive on a plant-based diet.

In general, the bear’s menu depends on the season and the availability of different types of food. Its diet also includes rodents, frogs, worms, and lizards. He willingly eats carrion.

In some areas, brown bears have real feasts when they find large concentrations of insects or come ashore during salmon's spawning run.

In some places they hunt ungulates. With one blow of a powerful paw, the animal can break the spine of a deer. Sometimes bears hunt roe deer, wild boars, fallow deer, and mountain goats. Often clubfoot significantly limit the number of these animals by hunting young ones.

When obtaining food, the animal relies mainly on its strength rather than speed. However, despite its clumsy appearance, the clubfoot can run quite briskly if necessary - at speeds of up to 50 km/h. It is an excellent swimmer, and young individuals are good at climbing trees.

Hibernation

Since bears descended from canids and evolved towards herbivory, they were faced with a problem - a lack of food in winter time. One of nature’s solutions was their ability to hibernate during the winter.

Typically, hibernating animals save a lot of energy due to a significant, sometimes almost zero, decrease in body temperature. The body temperature of bears that have climbed into a den decreases slightly (from 38 to 34° C), but their heart rate and breathing rate noticeably decreases.

Brown bears are among those mammals that, while asleep, can live up to 6 months without eating, drinking or excreting. Sleeping animals draw energy mainly from fat reserves: the more plump a bear is when it hibernates, the less body weight it loses during sleep. This process is so effective that bears rarely die during winter sleep: Death from starvation occurs more often in the spring when metabolic rates increase.

In the fall, bears begin setting up a den. Most often, for their winter rookery, they choose places on the outskirts of impassable swamps or along the banks forest rivers and lakes. Required condition is the distance from populated areas. Rookeries are located under the roots of massive trees, in ravines, caves, crevices, pits, and windbreaks. At the bottom of the den the animal lays a bedding of spruce branches, moss, bark, dry grass, etc.

Bears go into hibernation in October–December and emerge from it in March–May. These terms depend on many factors, but mainly on the geographical habitat. In different areas, sleep can last from 70 to 195 days.

Reproduction

The mating season for brown bears is May-July. The male and female spend time together for several weeks, but as soon as mating occurs, the animals scatter.

Pregnancy has its own characteristics: the fertilized egg in the female’s body develops to the state of a blastocyst, then stops growing, and around November it is implanted into the uterus. During the hibernation period, pregnancy proceeds quite quickly, the fetus develops actively and after 6-8 weeks 1 to 4 cubs are born. Thus, the total gestational age is 6.5-8.5 months.

High body temperature is necessary for bears to develop their cubs, which are born in the middle of winter. The birth of cubs in the depths of winter and their subsequent feeding by a hibernating mother is an amazing phenomenon.

Bear cubs are born with open eyes and very thin fur. Proportional to the mother's mass, they are very small (less than 1%), which is much less than in other placental mammals. However, feeding cubs with milk in the den takes a lot of energy from the mother, as a result of which the female loses up to 40% of her body weight during hibernation.

The reproduction rate of bears is quite low and depends on the region and the abundance of food. As a rule, a female bear gives birth to her first litter at the age of 5 to 10 years, and the interval between the births of cubs is from 2 to 5 years. Females are able to reproduce until about 20 years of age.

In the wild, brown bears live on average about 25 years. There is a known case where an animal in captivity lived to be 43 years old.

Population status

Due to its wide distribution and habitat in widely separated areas, it is very difficult to determine exact amount brown bears today. According to rough estimates, there are 200-250 thousand of these animals in the world. This seems like a fairly large number, but we must not forget that many populations are extremely small and are in danger of extinction. Tiny remnant populations are scattered throughout Spain, Italy, France, and Greece. Brown bears were brought to some areas of France, Austria, and Poland from other places. Restoration of small populations is difficult due to the low reproduction rate.

The conflict with humans, the only enemy of brown bears, is aggravated due to the fact that each bear uses very large territory. In Russia, Japan and some European countries, hunting of brown bears is allowed. In our country, for example, 4-5 thousand animals are killed annually. This level of legal shooting is considered acceptable, but there is still the problem of poaching.

Most populations are listed on CITES Appendix II, with the Chinese and Mongolian populations listed on CITES Appendix I. American populations found in Alaska are listed rare species IUCN.

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