LIFE Bears

WHEN MR. AND MRS. BROWN FIRST MET a bear, he was enormously polite. The couple spotted the docile creature, at a busy London train station, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and carrying a suitcase stuffed with marmalade. Following this introduction in Michael Bond’s 1958 children’s book A Bear Called Paddington, the character became a beloved pop culture star, returning in dozens of books over the decades, and in 2014, he made it to the big screen. Paddington was a box office winner, but it was not the only cinematic success story for the species at that time. The following year, The Revenant was released, featuring an adventurous fur trapper named Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio, in an Oscar-winning performance), who also meets a bear. But this was definitely not a children’s story.…

AMERICAN BLACK BEAR Black bears’ fur is not, in fact, exclusively black. It can range from grey to cinnamon and in some cases even white—but black is the most common color. Adults range between five and six feet long and can weigh between 200 and 600 pounds. They are common throughout the forests and mountains in the Pacific Northwest are also found throughout Canada, Alaska, and Mexico. ASIATIC BLACK BEAR Found from the mountains of southern Iran to the islands of Japan, the Asiatic black bear has a glossy black or brown coat with a blonde mark shaped like a crescent moon on its chest. Adults range between 130 and 440 pounds and are about four to six feet long. The range in size comes down to a matter of…

THE BIGGEST BEAR OF ALL TIME was more massive and imposing than any of its contemporary predators. The ancient Goliath weighed up to 3,500 pounds, roughly three times the size of the largest modern grizzlies. With his stout, heavily muscled body, the predator could take down large prey and run saber-toothed tigers off a meal. He routinely ate large creatures such as giant sloths, camels, and armadillos. Known only by the scientific name Arctotherium angustidens, the giant bear was not a hypercarnivorous monster feasting on any mammal it could get its claws on; the creature also ate salad on the side and was an omnivore like the modern sun bear, allowing the dietary opportunist to survive in a number of circumstances. Based on the latest estimates, this prehistoric South American…

EVERY SPRING IN NORTH America, as the days grow longer and the thick blanket of snow covering the forest floors begins to melt, a drowsy bear lumbers out of its den, where it had nestled for the previous six months. While the waking bear could find a still-frozen elk carcass, the lack of fresh meat means that the creature might instead consume frozen raspberries or blueberries and pick the bush clean. Bears like to sit under a tree or in a clearing, where they can savor these early meals without expending unnecessary energy. A bear’s life alternates between feast and famine, following a natural rhythm according to the availability of food throughout the year. Bears roam through a variety of habitats: Some wander across wide-open mountains; others stick to an…

BEARS TEND TO BE QUIET CREAtures. Their broad, soft paw pads allow them to move discreetly through forests, and any inter-bear communication involves scent marking or claw signatures. But when young bear cubs are padding around on four uncoordinated paws, or basking in the spring sunshine, things can get a bit chatty. A young cub might coo from a tree branch that’s just a bit too high, and a mother might deliver a low grunt or huff as a way of saying, “Well, get down from there.” These fluffy whelps are only a few months old when they begin getting in trouble outside the den. Their journeys begin nearly a year earlier, when mama is gorging on berries and fish to prepare for the winter’s sleep. Bear mating season occurs…

MATES FOR A MINUTE Brown bears spend the first few years of their lives exploring the world by their mother’s side. After two to three years, the mother ushers them off into the wild by themselves. Often, littermates will stay together for a brief period, slowly adjusting to their new independent lives. HIGHER AND HIGHER Climbing trees is a survival tactic black bears utilize from a very young age, but perfecting the skill takes practice. While Mom forages for food, cubs might test themselves on smaller trees, learning which types of bark are best for sinking their claws into, and how sturdy a branch needs to be to support their weight. GROWTH SPURT When spectacled bear cubs are just weeks old, their signature blonde markings begin to form. The cubs…