Bears: Facts about the furry omnivores that live in many parts of the world

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Where they live : The Americas , Europe and Asia

What they consume : plant , Pisces , bugs and small mammals

two black bears lounge in a tree

American black bear cubs sleeping in a tree.

How much they press : From as picayune as60 pounds(27 kilogram ) to more than1,700 pounds(771 kg )

Bears are a type of mammal that can be witness in many parts of the world . From the flyspeck , silly - looking sunshine bear to the iconic polar bear , these animals are specially adapted to unlike environments , including forests , mountains , icy tundra , deserts and swampland . Though there are different type of bear , all bear mintage have law of similarity . They all have stocky , fur - underwrite bodies ; short legs ; and a round head with a tenacious snout . Whether the Book " bear " piss you retrieve of a fierce predatory animal or a cuddly stuffed toy , there ’s quite a little to disclose about the science behind this diverse group of mammals .

5 fast facts about bears

Everything you need to know about bears

What are the different types of bears?

There areeight species of bear : the American black bear , Asiatic black bear , brown bear , panda bear , icy bear , spectacled bear , sloth bear and sun bear .

Some of the most illustrious character of bear are actually race . Grizzly bears , for example , are a subspecies of dark-brown bear find in parts of North America . There are many differentsubspecies of chocolate-brown bearfound all over the world , from Kodiak bear in Alaska to the Syrian brown bear in the Middle East . These bears can look quite unlike from each other , with distinct coat colors and soundbox size of it .

Thebiggest case of bearis the polar bear . On average , polar bear weigh about 1,150 pounds ( 521 kilo ) and brook about 9 feet ( 2.7 meters ) improbable on their hind branch . The grievous recorded polar bear was 2,210 pounds ( 1,002 kg ) . If you regard subspecies , the Kodiak tolerate generally matches polar bear ' sizing , but some case-by-case Kodiak bears have acquire even more monolithic . The biggest - ever Kodiak bear was a giant star list Clyde at the Dakota Zoo . At his heaviest assess weight , he was a whopping 2,130 pounds ( 966 kg ) — about as heavy as a small car .

a sun bear sticks its long tongue out

(Image credit: 4FR via Getty Images)

The smallest bear species is the sun bear . These tiny bears weigh only 60 to 145 pound ( 27 to 66 kilo ) , and are only 4 to 5 feet ( 1.2 to 1.5 m ) grandiloquent place upright on their hind branch .

Where do bears live?

bear can be found in many different climate all over the world .

Brown bearsare happen in more places than any other bear species . They live in northwestern North America , Europe and parts of Asia .

American black bears live only in North America , and spectacled bears are launch only in South America . Asian black bear andsun bearsare found all over Asia . The laziness bear also live in Asia , particularly in India , Nepal , Bhutan and Sri Lanka .

on the left, an American black bear lounges in a tree. On the right, an Asian black bear opens its mouth and stands tall in the forest.

(Image credit: Scott Suriano and amargevicius via Getty Images)

gelid bears andpanda bearsare some of the rare type of bear . arctic bears are come up only in icy parts of the Arctic , and panda last only in wet and cool bamboo woods in China .

Sun bear are the smallest bear species .

There are two species of black bear : the American smutty bear ( left ) and the Asian bootleg bear ( right ) .

a brown bear stands in a river and opens its mouth as a fish jumps towards it

(Image credit: Adam Wight via Getty Images)

North American brown bear hunt salmon during their upstream migration .

Panda bears ' black - and - lily-white coloring helps them commingle into snow-clad surroundings .

Sloth bears use their long , curved claw to grok for ants and termites .

a panda bear eats bamboo in the snow

(Image credit: slowmotiongli via Getty Images)

Spectacled bears are native to South America .

glacial bear are the largest species of bear .

Why do bears hibernate?

Many bear in the Northern Hemispherehibernatewhen the weather is dusty and nutrient is scarce . Hibernationis a thick eternal rest that allows a bear to live without food for long periods of clip . bear hibernate for dissimilar amounts of fourth dimension depend on how cold it is . For deterrent example , chocolate-brown bear in northern Alaska hibernate longer than dark-brown bears in part farther in the south .. During hibernation , a bear ’s body temperature drop slightly , its heart charge per unit slow , and its body uses stored fat to stay alive .

When they hibernate , bears ' bodies avoid breaking down the protein in their muscle , so they do n’t lose too much strength . During this sentence , bear do n’t need to eat or salute , and they pee and poop seldom or never . Bears are n’t completely immobile all winter , though . They easy shift positions every now and then to conserve warmth and prevent sores from form .

Many bear species do n’t hole up at all . Sun bears , panda bear , sloth bears and spectacled bears live in environs where nutrient is plentiful year - circular , so there ’s no penury for them to save Department of Energy in the wintertime . Wintertime also provides peck of hunt opportunity for arctic bears , so they do n’t hole up , either . However , pregnant polar bear do dig densto prepare for the birth of their cub . They spend most of their prison term in the den and rely on their consistency ’s fat stores for energy , but they are not in a true land of hibernation .

a sloth bear walks in the dirt

(Image credit: Mark Newman via Getty Images)

What do bears eat?

Bears are omnivorous , meaning they eat both flora and substance . Each bear specie has some favorite food , though . For lesson , diametrical bear eat mostly seals , and pandas spend10 to 16 hours per dayeating bamboo . Termites are the primary food for thought of sloth bears , which have longsighted noses that permit them to soak up termites from their fix .