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{{Short description|Family of carnivoran mammals}}
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{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Ursidae
| name = Bears
| fossil_range = {{Geological range|38|0}}Late [[Eocene]] – Recent
| image = Ours brun parcanimalierpyrenees 1.jpg
| image_caption = [[Brown bear]] (''Ursus arctos'')
| authority = [[Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim|G. Fischer de Waldheim]], 1817
| type_genus = ''[[Ursus (mammal)|Ursus]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision = 
* {{dagger}}[[Hemicyoninae]]
* {{dagger}}[[Ursavini|Ursavinae]]
* [[Ailuropodinae]] ([[Giant Panda|pandas]])
* [[Tremarctinae]] (short-faced bears)
* [[Ursinae]] (all other bear species)
| range_map = File:Ursidae distribution.png
| range_map_caption = Ursidae distribution, including recently extinct populations as defined by IUCN
}}

'''Bears''' are [[carnivora]]n mammals of the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] '''Ursidae''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɜɹ|.|s|ɪ|.|d|iː|,_|-|.|d|aɪ}}). They are classified as [[caniforms]], or doglike carnivorans.  Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of [[habitat]]s throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, and Eurasia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, [[plantigrade]] paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.

While the [[polar bear]] is mostly [[carnivorous]], and the [[giant panda]] is mostly [[herbivorous]], the remaining six species are [[omnivorous]] with varying diets. With the exception of [[courtship display|courting]] individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically [[solitary animals]]. They may be [[diurnality|diurnal]] or [[nocturnal]], and they have an excellent [[sense of smell]]. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers.  Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period of [[hibernation]], up to 100 days.

Bears have been hunted since [[prehistoric]] times for [[bear meat|their meat]] and fur. They have also been used for [[bear-baiting]] and other forms of entertainment, such as being [[tame bear|made to dance]]. With their powerful physical presence, they play a prominent role in the arts, mythology, and other cultural aspects of various human societies. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian [[bile bear]] market. The [[IUCN]] lists six bear species as [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]] or [[endangered species|endangered]], and even [[least concern]] species, such as the [[brown bear]], are at risk of [[extirpation]] in certain countries. The [[poaching]] and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing.

==Etymology==
The English word "bear" comes from Old English ''{{lang|ang|bera}}'' and belongs to a family of names for the bear in Germanic languages, such as Swedish ''{{lang|sv|[[bjorn|björn]]}}'', also used as a first name. This form is conventionally said to be related to a [[Proto-Indo-European]] word for "brown", so that "bear" would mean "the brown one".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNUSDAAAQBAJ&q=indo%20european&pg=PA333 |title=The Oxford Iintroduction to Proto Indo European and the Proto Indo European World |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-4294-7104-6 |location=New York |page=333 |oclc=139999117}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fortson |first=Benjamin W. |title=Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction. |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-5968-8 |edition=2nd |location=Hoboken |page=31 |oclc=778339290}}</ref> However, [[Donald Ringe|Ringe]] notes that while this etymology is semantically plausible, a word meaning "brown" of this form cannot be found in Proto-Indo-European. He suggests instead that "bear" is from the Proto-Indo-European word ''*ǵʰwḗr- ~ *ǵʰwér'' "wild animal".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ringe |first=Don |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NlExDwAAQBAJ&q=Don%20ringe&pg=PA128 |title=From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-251118-8 |edition=2nd |series=A Linguistic History of English |volume=1 |location=Oxford |page=128}}</ref> This terminology for the animal originated as a [[Avoidance speech|taboo avoidance]] term: proto-Germanic tribes replaced their original word for bear—''arkto''—with this euphemistic expression out of fear that speaking the animal's true name might cause it to appear.<!--<ref name="indo-european1959">{{cite book |last=Pokorny |first=Julius |author-link=Julius Pokorny |url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/natlang/ie/pokorny.html |title=Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch |date=1959 |publisher=Francke}}</ref>--><ref>{{cite dictionary |title=bear (n.) |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bear |access-date=22 January 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202020051/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bear |archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Postma |first1=Laura |title=The word for "bear" |url=http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba/qsonhist/bearetymologyslovakenglishwelsh.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122151051/http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba/qsonhist/bearetymologyslovakenglishwelsh.html |archive-date=22 November 2017 |access-date=21 March 2018 |website=University of Pittsburgh Slovak Studies Program}}</ref> According to author [[Ralph Keyes (author)|Ralph Keyes]], this is the oldest known [[euphemism]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Silver |first1=Alexandra |date=10 January 2011 |title=Hooking Up and Using the John: Why Do We Use So Many Euphemisms? |url=http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2041313,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406014817/http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2041313,00.html |archive-date=6 April 2019 |access-date=4 April 2019 |magazine=Time}}</ref>

Bear taxon names such as [[Arctoidea]] and ''[[Helarctos]]'' come from the ancient Greek ἄρκτος (''arktos''), meaning bear,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Arktos |encyclopedia=A Greek-English Lexicon |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2315199 |last1=Liddell |first1=Henry George |last2=Scott |first2=Robert}}</ref> as do the names "[[arctic]]" and "[[antarctic]]", via the name of the constellation [[Ursa Major]], the "Great Bear", prominent in the northern sky.<ref name="UrsaMajor">{{cite web |title=The Great Bear Constellation Ursa Major |url=http://www.souledout.org/nightsky/ursamandm/ursamajorandminor.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130031637/http://souledout.org/nightsky/ursamandm/ursamajorandminor.html |archive-date=30 November 2010 |access-date=12 January 2017}}</ref>

Bear taxon names such as Ursidae and ''Ursus'' come from Latin ''Ursus/Ursa'', he-bear/she-bear.<ref name=UrsaMajor/> The female first name "[[Ursula (given name)|Ursula]]", originally derived from a Christian [[St. Ursula|saint]]'s name, means "little she-bear" (diminutive of Latin ''ursa''). In Switzerland, the male first name "Urs" is especially popular, while the name of the canton and city of Bern is by legend derived from ''Bär'', German for bear. The Germanic name [[Bernard]] (including Bernhardt and similar forms) means "bear-brave", "bear-hardy", or "bold bear".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ursa Major – the Greater Bear |url=http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/UrsaMajor.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314234800/http://constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/UrsaMajor.html |archive-date=14 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2015 |publisher=constellationsofwords.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bernhard Family History |url=http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=bernhard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402201212/http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=bernhard |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=11 March 2015 |publisher=ancestry.com}}</ref> The Old English name [[Beowulf]] is a [[kenning]], "bee-wolf",  for bear, in turn meaning a brave warrior.<ref>Sweet, Henry (1884) [https://archive.org/details/anglosaxonreader00sweerich ''Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse'']. The Clarendon Press, p. 202.</ref>

== Evolution ==

=== Fossil history ===

[[File:Plithocyon armagnacensis.JPG|thumb|left|''[[Plithocyon|Plithocyon armagnacensis]]'' skull, a member of the extinct subfamily Hemicyoninae from the [[Miocene]]]]

The earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, including ''[[Parictis]]'' (late [[Eocene]] to early middle [[Miocene]], 38–18&nbsp;[[Mya (unit)|Mya]]) and the slightly younger ''[[Allocyon]]'' (early [[Oligocene]], 34–30&nbsp;Mya), both from North America. These animals looked very different from today's bears, being small and [[raccoon]]-like in overall appearance, with diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger.<ref name="Kemp">{{cite book |last=Kemp |first=T.S. |url=https://archive.org/details/originevolutionm00kemp |title=The Origin and Evolution of Mammals |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-19-850760-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/originevolutionm00kemp/page/n270 260] |url-access=limited}}</ref> It is unclear whether late-Eocene ursids were also present in Eurasia, although faunal exchange across the [[Bering land bridge]] may have been possible during a major sea level low stand as early as the late Eocene (about 37&nbsp;Mya) and continuing into the early Oligocene.<ref name="Wang2">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Banyue |last2=Qiu |first2=Zhanxiang |year=2005 |title=Notes on Early Oligocene Ursids (Carnivora, Mammalia) from Saint Jacques, Nei Mongol, China |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/447/22/B279a05.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History]] |volume=279 |issue=279 |pages=116–124 |doi=10.1206/0003-0090(2003)279<0116:C>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=26636569 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326201348/http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/447/22/B279a05.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> European genera morphologically very similar to ''Allocyon'', and to the much younger American ''[[Kolponomos]]'' (about 18 Mya),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tedford |first1=R.H. |author-link=Richard H. Tedford |last2=Barnes |first2=L.G. |last3=Ray |first3=C.E. |year=1994 |title=The early Miocene littoral ursoid carnivoran ''Kolponomos'': Systematics and mode of life |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf1/000389400021705.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History |volume=29 |pages=11–32 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922142556/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf1/000389400021705.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2012}}</ref> are known from the Oligocene, including ''[[Amphicticeps]]'' and ''[[Amphicynodon]]''.<ref name=Wang2/> There has been various morphological evidence linking amphicynodontines with [[pinniped]]s, as both groups were semi-aquatic, otter-like mammals.<ref name="Tedfordetal">{{Cite journal |last1=Tedford |first1=R.H. |author-link=Richard H. Tedford |last2=Barnes |first2=L.G. |last3=Ray |first3=C.E. |year=1994 |title=The early Miocene littoral ursoid carnivoran ''Kolponomos'': Systematics and mode of life |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf1/000389400021705.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History |volume=29 |pages=11–32 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922142556/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf1/000389400021705.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2012 |access-date=24 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Rybczynski07">{{cite journal |last1=Rybczynski |first1=N. |last2=Dawson |first2=M.R. |last3=Tedford |first3=R.H. |year=2009 |title=A semi-aquatic Arctic mammalian carnivore from the Miocene epoch and origin of Pinnipedia |journal=Nature |volume=458 |issue=7241 |pages=1021–1024 |bibcode=2009Natur.458.1021R |doi=10.1038/nature07985 |pmid=19396145 |s2cid=4371413}}</ref><ref name="Berta2018">{{cite journal |last1=Berta |first1=A. |last2=Morgan |first2=C. |last3=Boessenecker |first3=R.W. |year=2018 |title=The Origin and Evolutionary Biology of Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses |journal=[[Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences]] |volume=46 |pages=203–228 |bibcode=2018AREPS..46..203B |doi=10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010009 |s2cid=135439365 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In addition to the support of the pinniped–amphicynodontine clade, other morphological and some molecular evidence supports bears being the closest living relatives to pinnipeds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hunt |first1=R.M. Jr. |last2=Barnes |first2=L.G. |year=1994 |title=Basicranial evidence for ursid affinity of the oldest pinnipeds |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_36692_basicranialevidenceforursidaff1990 |format=PDF |journal=Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History |volume=29 |pages=57–67}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lento |first1=G.M. |last2=Hickson |first2=R.E. |last3=Chambers |first3=G.K. |last4=Penny |first4=D. |year=1995 |title=Use of spectral analysis to test hypotheses on the origin of pinnipeds |journal=[[Molecular Biology and Evolution]] |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=28–52 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040189 |pmid=7877495 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="wangetal2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=X. |last2=McKenna |first2=M.C. |last3=Dashzeveg |first3=D. |year=2005 |title=''Amphicticeps'' and ''Amphicynodon'' (Arctoidea, Carnivora) from Hsanda Gol Formation, central Mongolia and phylogeny of basal arctoids with comments on zoogeography. |url=https://zenodo.org/record/4735171 |journal=[[American Museum Novitates]] |issue=3483 |pages=1–58 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2005)483[0001:AAAACF]2.0.CO;2 |hdl=2246/5674 |s2cid=59126616}}</ref><ref name=Rybczynski07/><ref name="Higdon 2007">{{Cite journal |last1=Higdon |first1=J.W. |last2=Bininda-Emonds |first2=O.R. |last3=Beck |first3=R.M. |last4=Ferguson |first4=S.H. |year=2007 |title=Phylogeny and divergence of the pinnipeds (Carnivora: Mammalia) assessed using a multigene dataset |journal=[[BMC Evolutionary Biology]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=216 |bibcode=2007BMCEE...7..216H |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-7-216 |pmc=2245807 |pmid=17996107 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=Berta2018/>
[[File:Arctotherium.jpg|thumb|right|Life restoration of ''Arctotherium bonariense'']]
The raccoon-sized, dog-like ''[[Cephalogale]]'' is the oldest-known member of the subfamily [[Hemicyoninae]], which first appeared during the middle Oligocene in Eurasia about 30&nbsp;Mya.<ref name=Wang2/> The subfamily includes the younger genera ''[[Phoberocyon]]'' (20–15&nbsp;Mya), and ''[[Plithocyon]]'' (15–7&nbsp;Mya). A ''Cephalogale''-like species gave rise to the genus ''[[Ursavus]]'' during the early Oligocene (30–28&nbsp;Mya); this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears. Species of ''Ursavus'' subsequently entered North America, together with ''Amphicynodon'' and ''Cephalogale'', during the early Miocene (21–18&nbsp;Mya). Members of the living lineages of bears diverged from ''Ursavus'' between 15 and 20&nbsp;Mya,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Waits |first1=Lisette |date=1999 |title=Rapid radiation events in the family Ursidae indicated by likelihood phylogenetic estimation from multiple fragments of mtDNA |url=http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS298_Waits_MolPhylogenetEvol.pdf |journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=82–92 |bibcode=1999MolPE..13...82W |doi=10.1006/mpev.1999.0637 |pmid=10508542 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903211855/http://dobzhanskycenter.bio.spbu.ru/pdf/sjop/MS298_Waits_MolPhylogenetEvol.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pàges |first1=Marie |date=2008 |title=Combined analysis of fourteen nuclear genes refines the Ursidae phylogeny |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=73–83 |bibcode=2008MolPE..47...73P |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2007.10.019 |pmid=18328735}}</ref> likely via the species ''Ursavus elmensis''. Based on genetic and morphological data, the Ailuropodinae (pandas) were the first to diverge from other living bears about 19&nbsp;Mya, although no fossils of this group have been found before about 11 Mya.<ref name="krause2008">{{Cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=J. |last2=Unger |first2=T. |last3=Noçon |first3=A. |last4=Malaspinas |first4=A. |last5=Kolokotronis |first5=S. |last6=Stiller |first6=M. |last7=Soibelzon |first7=L. |last8=Spriggs |first8=H. |last9=Dear |first9=P. H. |last10=Briggs |first10=A. W. |last11=Bray |first11=S.C.E. |last12=O'Brien |first12=S.J. |last13=Rabeder |first13=G. |last14=Matheus |first14=P. |last15=Cooper |first15=A. |year=2008 |title=Mitochondrial genomes reveal an explosive radiation of extinct and extant bears near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=8 |issue=220 |page=220 |bibcode=2008BMCEE...8..220K |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-220 |pmc=2518930 |pmid=18662376 |doi-access=free |last16=Slatkin |first16=M. |last17=Pääbo |first17=S. |last18=Hofreiter |first18=M.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abella |first1=Juan |last2=Alba |first2=David M. |last3=Robles |first3=Josep M. |last4=Valenciano |first4=Alberto |last5=Rotgers |first5=Cheyenn |last6=Carmona |first6=Raül |last7=Montoya |first7=Plinio |last8=Morales |first8=JorgeZ |year=2012 |title=Kretzoiarctos gen. nov., the Oldest Member of the Giant Panda Clade |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=11 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...748985A |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0048985 |pmc=3498366 |pmid=23155439 |doi-access=free |article-number=e48985}}</ref>

The New World short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) differentiated from Ursinae following a dispersal event into North America during the mid-Miocene (about 13&nbsp;Mya).<ref name=krause2008/> They [[Great American Interchange|invaded South America]] (≈2.5 or 1.2&nbsp;Ma) following formation of the [[Isthmus of Panama]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Soibelzon |first1=L. H. |last2=Tonni |first2=E.P. |last3=Bond |first3=M. |year=2005 |title=The fossil record of South American short-faced bears (Ursidae, Tremarctinae) |url=http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/bitstream/handle/10915/5366/Documento_completo.pdf?sequence=1 |journal=[[Journal of South American Earth Sciences]] |volume=20 |issue=1–2 |pages=105–113 |bibcode=2005JSAES..20..105S |doi=10.1016/j.jsames.2005.07.005 |hdl=10915/5366}}</ref> Their earliest fossil representative is ''[[Plionarctos]]'' in North America (c.&nbsp;10–2&nbsp;Ma). This genus is probably the direct ancestor to the [[Arctodus|North American short-faced bears]] (genus ''Arctodus''), the [[Arctotherium|South American short-faced bears]] (''Arctotherium''), and the spectacled bears, ''Tremarctos'', represented by both an extinct North American species (''[[Tremarctos floridanus|T. floridanus]]''), and the lone surviving representative of the Tremarctinae, the South American [[spectacled bear]] (''T. ornatus'').<ref name=Wang2/> Ursids did not diversify as much when colonising South America as they did when colonising the Holarctic, however.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Faurby |first1=Søren |last2=Werdelin |first2=Lars |last3=Antonelli |first3=Alex |date=1 January 2026 |title=Good Colonizers Diversify Faster |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/738413 |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |language=en |volume=207 |issue=1 |pages=30–43 |doi=10.1086/738413 |pmid=41418307 |bibcode=2026ANat..207...30F |issn=0003-0147 |access-date=14 March 2026 |via=The University of Chicago Press Journals}}</ref>

[[File:Teufelshöhle-Höhlenbär-Dreiviertelprofil.jpg|thumb|Fossil of the [[cave bear]] (''Ursus spelaeus''), a relative of the brown bear and polar bear from the [[Pleistocene]] epoch in Europe]]

The subfamily Ursinae experienced a dramatic proliferation of taxa about 5.3–4.5&nbsp;Mya, coincident with major environmental changes; the first members of the genus ''[[Ursus (genus)|Ursus]]'' appeared around this time. The [[sloth bear]] is a modern survivor of one of the earliest lineages to diverge during this radiation event (5.3&nbsp;Mya); it took on its peculiar morphology, related to its diet of termites and ants, no later than by the early [[Pleistocene]]. By 3–4&nbsp;Mya, the species ''Ursus minimus'' appears in the fossil record of Europe; apart from its size, it was nearly identical to today's [[Asian black bear]]. It is likely ancestral to all bears within Ursinae, perhaps aside from the sloth bear. Two lineages evolved from ''U.&nbsp;minimus'': the black bears (including the [[sun bear]], the Asian black bear, and the [[American black bear]]); and the brown bears (which includes the [[polar bear]]). Modern [[brown bear]]s evolved from ''U.&nbsp;minimus'' via ''[[Ursus etruscus]]'', which itself is ancestral to the extinct Pleistocene [[cave bear]].<ref name=krause2008/> Species of Ursinae have migrated repeatedly into North America from Eurasia as early as 4 Mya during the early Pliocene.<ref name="Qiu">{{cite journal |last=Qiu |first=Zhanxiang |year=2003 |title=Dispersals of Neogene Carnivorans between Asia and North America |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/447/25/B279a02.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=279 |issue=279 |pages=18–31 |doi=10.1206/0003-0090(2003)279<0018:C>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=88183435 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326201351/http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/447/25/B279a02.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=74–77}}</ref> The polar bear is the most recently evolved species and descended from a population of brown bears that became isolated in northern latitudes by glaciation 400,000&nbsp;years ago.<ref name="Liu et al 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Shiping |last2=Lorenzen |first2=Eline D. |last3=Fumagalli |first3=Matteo |last4=Li |first4=Bo |last5=Harris |first5=Kelley |last6=Xiong |first6=Zijun |last7=Zhou |first7=Long |last8=Korneliussen |first8=Thorfinn Sand |last9=Somel |first9=Mehmet |last10=Babbitt |first10=Courtney |last11=Wray |first11=Greg |last12=Li |first12=Jianwen |last13=He |first13=Weiming |last14=Wang |first14=Zhuo |last15=Fu |first15=Wenjing |date=2014 |title=Population genomics reveal recent speciation and rapid evolutionary adaptation in Polar Bears |journal=[[Cell (journal)|Cell]] |volume=157 |issue=4 |pages=785–794 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.054 |pmc=4089990 |pmid=24813606 |last16=Xiang |first16=Xueyan |last17=Morgan |first17=Claire C. |last18=Doherty |first18=Aoife |last19=O'Connell |first19=Mary J. |last20=McInerney |first20=James O. |last21=Born |first21=Erik W. |last22=Dalén |first22=Love |last23=Dietz |first23=Rune |last24=Orlando |first24=Ludovic |last25=Sonne |first25=Christian |last26=Zhang |first26=Guojie |last27=Nielsen |first27=Rasmus |last28=Willerslev |first28=Eske |last29=Wang |first29=Jun}}</ref>

=== External phylogeny ===

The relationship of the bear family with other carnivorans is shown in the following [[cladogram|phylogenetic tree]], which is based on the [[molecular phylogeny|molecular phylogenetic analysis]] of six genes in Flynn (2005)<ref name="Flynn2005">{{Cite journal |last1=Flynn |first1=J.J. |last2=Finarelli |first2=J.A. |last3=Zehr |first3=S. |last4=Hsu |first4=J. |last5=Nedbal |first5=M.A. |year=2005 |title=Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora (Mammalia): Assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=317–337 |doi=10.1080/10635150590923326 |pmid=16012099 |doi-access=free}}</ref> with the musteloids updated following the multigene analysis of Law et al. (2018).<ref name="Law-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Law |first1=Chris J. |last2=Slater |first2=Graham J. |last3=Mehta |first3=Rita S. |date=1 January 2018 |title=Lineage Diversity and Size Disparity in Musteloidea: Testing Patterns of Adaptive Radiation Using Molecular and Fossil-Based Methods |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=127–144 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syx047 |pmid=28472434 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
{{clade
|label1=[[Carnivora]]
|1={{clade
   |1=[[Feliformia]] [[File:Lydekker - Ocelot (white background).JPG|60px|Ocelot]]
   |label2=[[Caniformia]]
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Canidae]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XI).jpg|60px|African golden wolf]]
      |label2=[[Arctoidea]]
      |2={{clade
         |label1=
         |1='''Ursidae''' [[File:Ursus arctos - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - (white background).jpg|70px|Brown bear]]
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Pinnipedia]]  [[File:Faroe stamp 227 grey seal (Phoca vitulina) white background.jpg|60px|Common seal]]
            |label2=[[Musteloidea]]
            |2={{clade
                  |1=[[Mephitidae]] [[File:Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen (Plate CXXI-) (white background).jpg|50px|Striped skunk]]
                  |2=[[Ailuridae]] [[File:Ailurus fulgens - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam -(white background).jpg|60px|Red panda]]
                  |3={{clade
                     |1=[[Procyonidae]] [[File:Wild animals of North America, intimate studies of big and little creatures of the mammal kingdom (Page 410) (white background).jpg|60 px|Common raccoon]]
                     |2=[[Mustelidae]] [[File:Mustela eversmanii (white background).png|60px|Steppe polecat]]
                     }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

Note that although they are called "bears" in some languages, [[red panda]]s and [[Procyonidae|raccoons and their close relatives]] are not bears, but rather [[Musteloidea|musteloids]].<ref name=Flynn2005/>

=== Internal phylogeny ===

{{Phylogeny/Ursidae}}

===Taxonomy===

{{further|List of ursids|Ursid hybrid|Subspecies of brown bear}}

McLellan and colleagues (1992) classified the bears into seven subfamilies: [[Amphicynodontinae]], [[Hemicyoninae]], [[Ursavinae]], [[Agriotheriinae]], [[Ailuropodinae]], [[Tremarctinae]], and [[Ursinae]].<ref name="mcLellanreiner1992">{{cite journal |last1=McLellan |first1=B. |last2=Reiner |first2=D.C. |year=1992 |title=A review of bear evolution |journal=International Association for Bear Research and Management |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=85–96 |doi=10.2307/3872687 |jstor=3872687 |s2cid=91124592}}</ref><ref name="aginsburgi">{{cite journal |last=de Bonis |first=Louis |year=2011 |title=A new species of ''Adelpharctos'' (Mammalia, Carnivora, Ursidae) from the late Oligocene of the "Phosphorites du Quercy" (France) |journal=Estudios Geológicos |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=179–186 |doi=10.3989/egeol.40553.181 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Cyonarctos">{{Cite journal |last=de Bonis |first=Louis |year=2013 |title=Ursidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Late Oligocene of the "Phosphorites du Quercy" (France) and a reappraisal of the genus ''Cephalogale'' Geoffroy, 1862 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/4538147 |journal=Geodiversitas |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=787–814 |bibcode=2013Geodv..35..787B |doi=10.5252/g2013n4a4 |s2cid=131561629}}</ref><ref name="qiuetal2014">{{cite journal |last=Qiu |first=Zhan-Xiang |display-authors=etal |date=2014 |title=A Late Miocene ''Ursavus'' skull from Guanghe, Gansu, China |journal=Vertebrata PalAsiatica |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=265–302}}</ref> 
McKenna et al. (1997) instead classified the bear species into the superfamily '''Ursoidea''', with Hemicyoninae and Agriotheriinae being classified in the family "Hemicyonidae".<ref name="mckennabell1997">{{cite book |last1=McKenna |first1=M.C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zS7FZkzIw-cC&pg=PA247 |title=Classification of nammals above the species level |last2=Bell |first2=S. |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-231-52853-5 |place=New York}}</ref> Amphicynodontinae under this classification were classified as stem-[[pinnipeds]] in the superfamily [[Pinnipedia|Phocoidea]].<ref name="mckennabell1997"/> In the McKenna and Bell classification, both bears and pinnipeds are in a parvorder of [[carnivora]]n mammals known as [[Ursida]], along with the extinct bear dogs of the family [[Amphicyonidae]].<ref name="mckennabell1997"/>

Wesley-Hunt and Flynn (2005) classify the Ursidae as one of nine families in the suborder [[Caniformia]], or "doglike" carnivorans, within the order [[Carnivora]]. Bears' closest living relatives are the [[pinniped]]s, [[Canidae|canids]], and [[musteloidea|musteloid]]s.<ref name="Hunt2005">{{cite journal |last1=Wesley-Hunt |first1=G. D. |last2=Flynn |first2=J. J. |year=2005 |title=Phylogeny of the Carnivora: Basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of 'Miacoidea' relative to Carnivora |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=1–28 |bibcode=2005JSPal...3....1W |doi=10.1017/S1477201904001518 |s2cid=86755875}}</ref> Modern bears comprise eight species in three subfamilies: [[Ailuropodinae]] (monotypic with the [[giant panda]]), [[Tremarctinae]] (monotypic with the [[spectacled bear]]), and [[Ursinae]] (containing six species divided into one to three genera, depending on the authority). Nuclear chromosome analysis show that the [[karyotype]] of the six ursine bears is nearly identical, each having 74 [[chromosome]]s (''see'' [[Ursid hybrid]]), whereas the giant panda has 42 chromosomes and the spectacled bear 52. These smaller numbers can be explained by the fusing of some chromosomes, and the banding patterns on these match those of the ursine species, but differ from those of procyonids, which supports the inclusion of these two species in Ursidae rather than in [[Procyonidae]], where they had been placed by some earlier authorities.<ref name="Servheen1999" />


==Physical characteristics==

===Size===

{{multiple image
 | direction = horizontal
 | width = 200
 | align = right
 | image1 = Polar Bear AdF.jpg
 | image2 = Sepilok Sabah BSBCC-photos-by-Wong-Siew-Te-06.jpg
 | footer = Polar bear (left) and sun bear, the largest and smallest species on average
}}

The bear family includes the most massive extant terrestrial members of the order Carnivora.{{efn|Treating [[pinniped]]s<ref name="Illiger1811">{{Cite book |last=Illiger |first=J. K. W. |url=https://archive.org/stream/caroliilligerida00illi#page/138/mode/2up |title=Prodromus Systematis Mammalium et Avium |publisher=Sumptibus C.&nbsp;Salfeld |year=1811 |pages=138–39 |language=la}}</ref> as [[marine mammal]]s.}} The polar bear is considered to be the largest extant species,<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=61}}</ref> with adult males weighing {{cvt|350|-|700|kg}} and measuring {{cvt|2.4|-|3|m}} in total length.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hemstock |first=Annie |url=https://archive.org/details/polarbear0000hems/page/4 |title=The Polar Bear |publisher=Capstone Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7368-0031-0 |location=Manakato, MN |page=[https://archive.org/details/polarbear0000hems/page/4 4] |ref=Hemstock}}</ref> The smallest species is the sun bear, which ranges {{cvt|25|–|65|kg}} in weight and {{cvt|100|–|140|cm}} in length.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=C. S. |last2=Krausman |first2=P. S. |year=2002 |title=Helarctos malayanus |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=696 |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2002)696<0001:HM>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=198969265}}</ref> Prehistoric [[Arctodus|North]] and [[South American short-faced bear]]s were the largest species known to have lived. The latter estimated to have weighed {{cvt|1,600|kg}} and stood {{cvt|3.4|m}} tall.<ref name="Dell'Amore2011">{{citation |last=Dell'Amore |first=C. |title=Biggest Bear Ever Found |date=3 February 2011 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110203-biggest-bear-largest-giant-short-faced-animals-science/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017130448/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110203-biggest-bear-largest-giant-short-faced-animals-science/ |archive-date=17 October 2017 |publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] News}}</ref><ref name="Soibelzon2">{{Cite journal |last1=Soibelzon |first1=L. H. |last2=Schubert |first2=B. W. |date=January 2011 |title=The Largest Known Bear, ''Arctotherium angustidens'', from the Early Pleistocene Pampean Region of Argentina: With a Discussion of Size and Diet Trends in Bears |url=http://jpaleontol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/1/69 |url-status=live |journal=[[Journal of Paleontology]] |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=69–75 |doi=10.1666/10-037.1 |hdl=11336/104215 |s2cid=129585554 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310053427/http://jpaleontol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/1/69 |archive-date=10 March 2011 |access-date=1 June 2011 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Body weight varies throughout the year in bears of temperate and arctic climates, as they build up fat reserves in the summer and autumn and lose weight during the winter.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/>

===Morphology===

[[File:Bear foot.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Unlike most other [[carnivora]]ns, bears have [[plantigrade]] feet. Drawing by [[Richard Owen]], 1866.]]

Bears are generally bulky and robust animals with short tails. They are [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] with regard to size, with males typically being larger.<ref name="Derocheretal86">{{cite journal |last1=Derocher |first1=Andrew E. |last2=Andersen |first2=Magnus |last3=Wiig |first3=Øystein |year=2005 |title=Sexual dimorphism of polar bears |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=86 |issue=5 |pages=895–901 |doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2005)86[895:SDOPB]2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Hunt98">{{Cite book |last=Hunt |first=R. M. Jr. |title=Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, volume 1: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-521-35519-3 |editor1=Janis, Christine M. |location=Cambridge, England |pages=174–195 |chapter=Ursidae |editor2=Scott, Kathleen M. |editor3=Jacobs, Louis L.}}</ref> Larger species tend to show increased levels of sexual dimorphism in comparison to smaller species.<ref name=Hunt98/> Relying as they do on strength rather than speed, bears have relatively short limbs with thick bones to support their bulk. The [[Scapula|shoulder blades]] and the [[pelvis]] are correspondingly massive. The limbs are much straighter than those of the [[big cat]]s as there is no need for them to flex in the same way due to the differences in their gait. The strong forelimbs are used to catch prey, excavate dens, dig out burrowing animals, turn over rocks and logs to locate prey, and club large creatures.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/>

[[File:Black bear large.jpg|thumb|upright|Despite being [[quadruped]]s, bears can stand and sit as humans do, as demonstrated by this [[American black bear]].]]

Unlike most other land carnivorans, bears are [[plantigrade]]. They distribute their weight toward the hind feet, which makes them look lumbering when they walk. They are capable of bursts of speed but soon tire, and as a result mostly rely on ambush rather than the chase. Bears can stand on their hind feet and sit up straight with remarkable balance. Their front paws are flexible enough to grasp fruit and leaves. Bears' non-retractable claws are used for digging, climbing, tearing, and catching prey. The claws on the front feet are larger than those on the back and may be a hindrance when climbing trees; black bears are the most arboreal of the bears, and have the shortest claws. Pandas are unique in having a bony extension on the wrist of the front feet which acts as a thumb, and is used for gripping bamboo shoots as the animals feed.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/>

Most mammals have [[Agouti (coloration)|agouti]] hair, with each individual hair shaft having bands of color corresponding to two different types of [[melanin]] pigment. Bears however have a single type of melanin and the hairs have a single color throughout their length, apart from the tip which is sometimes a different shade. The coat consists of long guard hairs, which form a protective shaggy covering, and short dense hairs which form an insulating layer trapping air close to the skin. The shaggy coat helps maintain body heat during winter hibernation and is shed in the spring leaving a shorter summer coat. Polar bears have hollow, translucent guard hairs which gain heat from the sun and conduct it to the dark-colored skin below. They have a thick layer of blubber for extra insulation, and the soles of their feet are furry,<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/> except for the pads.<ref name="Orndorf 2022">{{cite journal |last1=Orndorf |first1=Nathaniel |last2=Garner |first2=Austin M. |last3=Dhinojwala |first3=Ali |title=Polar bear paw pad surface roughness and its relevance to contact mechanics on snow |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |volume=19 |issue=196 |date=2022 |pmid=36321372 |pmc=9627446 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2022.046 |doi-broken-date=6 April 2026 }}</ref> While bears tend to be uniform in color, some species may have markings on the chest or face and the giant panda has a bold black-and-white pelage.<ref name="Ward124"/>

Bears have small rounded ears so as to minimize heat loss, but neither their hearing nor sight are particularly acute. Unlike many other carnivorans they have [[color vision]], perhaps to help them distinguish ripe nuts and fruits. They are unique among carnivorans in not having touch-sensitive [[whiskers]] on the muzzle; however, they have an excellent [[olfaction|sense of smell]], better than that of the dog, or possibly any other mammal. They use smell for signalling to each other (either to warn off rivals or detect mates) and for finding food. Smell is the principal sense used by bears to locate most of their food, and they have excellent memories which helps them to relocate places where they have found food before.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/>

[[File:Ursus arctos 01 MWNH 145 (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|Brown bear skull]]

The skulls of bears are massive, providing anchorage for the powerful [[Masseter muscle|masseter]] and [[temporal muscle|temporal]] jaw muscles. The [[canine tooth|canine teeth]] are large but mostly used for display, and the [[molar (tooth)|molar]] teeth flat and crushing. Unlike most other members of the Carnivora, bears have relatively undeveloped [[carnassial]] teeth, and their teeth are adapted for a diet that includes a significant amount of vegetable matter.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish">{{cite book |author=Anon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTPI_d9fyLAC&pg=PA104 |title=Mammal Anatomy: An Illustrated Guide |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7614-7882-9 |pages=104–123}}</ref> Considerable variation occurs in [[dentition|dental formula]] even within a given species. This may indicate bears are still in the process of evolving from a mainly meat-eating diet to a predominantly herbivorous one. Polar bears appear to have secondarily re-evolved carnassial-like cheek teeth, as their diets have switched back towards carnivory.<ref name="EoM">{{cite book |last=Bunnell |first=Fred |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/87 |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Facts on File |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-87196-871-5 |editor=Macdonald, D. |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/87 87]}}</ref> Sloth bears lack lower central incisors and use their protrusible lips for sucking up the termites on which they feed.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/> The general dental formula for living bears is: {{DentalFormula|upper=3.1.2–4.2|lower=3.1.2–4.3}}.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/> The structure of the [[larynx]] of bears appears to be the most [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] of the caniforms.<ref name="Ward117"/> They possess air pouches connected to the [[pharynx]] which may [[vocal resonance|amplify]] their vocalizations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weissengruber |first1=G. E. |last2=Forstenpointner |first2=G. |last3=Kübber-Heiss |first3=A. |last4=Riedelberger |first4=K. |last5=Schwammer |first5=H. |last6=Ganzberger |first6=K. |year=2001 |title=Occurrence and structure of epipharyngeal pouches in bears (Ursidae) |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=198 |issue=3 |pages=309–314 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19830309.x |pmc=1468220 |pmid=11322723}}</ref>

Bears have a fairly simple digestive system typical for carnivorans, with a single stomach, short undifferentiated intestines and no [[cecum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=C. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC |title=Wild Mammals of North America; biology, management, and conservation |last2=Miller |first2=S. D. |last3=Haroldson |first3=M. A. |date=19 November 2003 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1 |editor-last1=Feldhamer |editor-first1=G. |page=562 |chapter=Grizzly Bear |editor-last2=Thompson |editor-first2=B. |editor-last3=Chapman |editor-first3=J.}}</ref><ref name="nps"/> Even the herbivorous giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes. Its ability to digest [[cellulose]] is ascribed to the microbes in its gut.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Li |first=Ruiqiang |last2=Fan |first2=Wei |last3=Tian |first3=Geng |last4=Zhu |first4=Hongmei |last5=He |first5=Lin |last6=Cai |first6=Jing |last7=Huang |first7=Quanfei |last8=Cai |first8=Qingle |last9=Li |first9=Bo |last10=Bai |first10=Yinqi |last11=Zhang |first11=Zhihe |last12=Zhang |first12=Yaping |last13=Wang |first13=Wen |last14=Li |first14=Jun |last15=Wei |first15=Fuwen |year=2010 |title=The sequence and de novo assembly of the giant panda genome |journal=Nature |volume=463 |issue=21 |pages=311–317 |bibcode=2010Natur.463..311L |doi=10.1038/nature08696 |pmc=3951497 |pmid=20010809 |last16=Li |first16=Heng |last17=Jian |first17=Min |last18=Li |first18=Jianwen |last19=Zhang |first19=Zhaolei |last20=Nielsen |first20=Rasmus |last21=Li |first21=Dawei |last22=Gu |first22=Wanjun |last23=Yang |first23=Zhentao |last24=Xuan |first24=Zhaoling |last25=Ryder |first25=Oliver A. |last26=Leung |first26=Frederick Chi-Ching |last27=Zhou |first27=Yan |last28=Cao |first28=Jianjun |last29=Sun |first29=Xiao |last30=Fu |first30=Yonggui |display-authors=1 }}</ref> Bears must spend much of their time feeding in order to gain enough nutrition from foliage. The panda, in particular, spends 12–15 hours a day feeding.<ref name="Ward83"/>

==Distribution and habitat==

{{Further|List of carnivorans by population}}

[[File:Bear distribution map.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Bear distribution map]]

Extant bears are found in sixty countries primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Europe. An exception is the [[spectacled bear]]; native to South America, it inhabits the [[Andes|Andean region]].<ref name="ServheenForeword"/> The [[sun bear]]'s range extends below the equator in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=52}}</ref> The [[Atlas bear]], a subspecies of the brown bear was distributed in North Africa from Morocco to Libya, but it became extinct around the 1870s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hamdine |first1=Watik |last2=Thévenot |first2=Michel |last3=Michaux |first3=Jacques |year=1998 |title=Histoire récente de l'ours brun au Maghreb |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences |language=fr |volume=321 |issue=7 |pages=565–570 |bibcode=1998CRASG.321..565H |doi=10.1016/S0764-4469(98)80458-7 |pmid=10877599}}</ref>

The most widespread species is the [[brown bear]], which occurs from Western Europe eastwards through Asia to the western areas of North America (where the local subspecies is the [[grizzly bear]]).<ref name="ServheenForeword"/> The [[American black bear]] is restricted to North America, and the [[polar bear]] is restricted to the Arctic Ocean. All the remaining species of bear are Asian.<ref name="ServheenForeword">{{cite book |last1=Servheen |first1=C. |last2=Herrero |first2=S. |last3=Peyton |first3=B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXQ03uVmCAIC&pg=PR5 |title=Bears: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |publisher=IUCN |year=1999 |isbn=978-2-8317-0462-3 |pages=5–10 |quote=They are opportunistic omnivores whose diet varies from plant foliage, roots, and fruits; insect adults, larvae, and eggs; animal matter from carrion; animal matter from predation; and fish. Their dentition and digestive system reflects this varied diet.}}</ref> They occur in a range of habitats which include tropical lowland rainforest, both coniferous and broadleaf forests, prairies, steppes, montane grassland, alpine scree slopes, Arctic tundra and in the case of the polar bear, [[Drift ice|ice floes]].<ref name="ServheenForeword"/><ref name=Walker/> Bears may dig their dens in hillsides or use caves, hollow logs and dense vegetation for shelter.<ref name=Walker/>

==Behavior and ecology==
[[File:Bear tracks (5062843250).jpg|thumb|right|[[American black bear]] tracks at [[Superior National Forest]], [[Minnesota]], U.S.]]

Brown and American black bears are generally [[diurnality|diurnal]], meaning that they are active for the most part during the day, though they may forage substantially by night.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klinka |first1=D. R. |last2=Reimchen |first2=T. E. |date=2002 |title=Nocturnal and diurnal foraging behaviour of brown bears (Ursus arctos) on a salmon stream in coastal British Columbia |url=http://web.uvic.ca/~reimlab/noctdibrbear.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |volume=80 |issue=8 |pages=1317–1322 |bibcode=2002CaJZ...80.1317K |doi=10.1139/Z02-123 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812163506/http://web.uvic.ca/~reimlab/noctdibrbear.pdf |archive-date=12 August 2017 |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> Other species may be [[nocturnal]], active at night, though female sloth bears with cubs may feed more at daytime to avoid competition from conspecifics and nocturnal predators.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=99}}</ref> Bears are overwhelmingly solitary and are considered to be the most asocial of all the Carnivora. The only times bears are encountered in groups are mothers with young or occasional seasonal bounties of rich food (such as salmon runs).<ref>{{cite book |last=Sandell |first=M. |title=Carnivore behavior, ecology, and evolution |publisher=Springer |year=1989 |isbn=978-1-4613-0855-3 |pages=164–182 |chapter=The mating tactics and spacing patterns of solitary carnivores |doi=10.1007/978-1-4613-0855-3_7 |doi-broken-date=6 April 2026 }}</ref><ref name="Stonorov"/> Fights between males can occur and older individuals may have extensive scarring, which suggests that maintaining dominance can be intense.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=130}}</ref> With their acute sense of smell, bears can locate carcasses from several kilometres away. They use [[olfaction]] to locate other foods, encounter mates, avoid rivals and recognize their cubs.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/>

===Feeding===
[[File:Giant Panda Tai Shan.JPG|thumb|left|[[Giant panda]] feeding on [[bamboo]] at [[Smithsonian National Zoological Park]], [[Washington, D. C.]] This species is almost entirely [[herbivorous]].]]

Most bears are opportunistic [[omnivore]]s and consume more plant than animal matter, and appear to have evolved from an ancestor which was a low-protein macronutrient omnivore.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robbins |first1=Charles T. |last2=Christian |first2=Amelia L. |last3=Vineyard |first3=Travis G. |last4=Thompson |first4=Debbie |last5=Knott |first5=Katrina K. |last6=Tollefson |first6=Troy N. |last7=Fidgett |first7=Andrea L. |last8=Wickersham |first8=Tryon A. |year=2022 |title=Ursids evolved early and continuously to be low-protein macronutrient omnivores |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=15251 |bibcode=2022NatSR..1215251R |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-19742-z |pmc=9463165 |pmid=36085304}}</ref> They eat anything from leaves, roots, and berries to insects, carrion, fresh meat, and fish, and have digestive systems and teeth adapted to such a diet.<ref name="ServheenForeword"/> At the extremes are the almost entirely herbivorous giant panda and the mostly carnivorous polar bear. However, all bears feed on any food source that becomes seasonally available.<ref name="Ward83">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=83}}</ref> For example, Asiatic black bears in [[Taiwan]] consume large numbers of acorns when these are most common, and switch to [[ungulate]]s at other times of the year.<ref name="asiablackdiet">{{cite journal |last=Hwang |first=Mei-Hsiu |year=2002 |title=Diets of Asiatic black bears in Taiwan, with Methodological and Geographical Comparisons |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_13/Hwang_13.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Ursus |volume=13 |pages=111–125 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723060824/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_13/Hwang_13.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2013 |access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref>

When foraging for plants, bears choose to eat them at the stage when they are at their most nutritious and digestible, typically avoiding older grasses, sedges and leaves.<ref name="nps">{{cite web |title=Food Habits of Grizzly Bears and Black Bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearfoods.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128071843/https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearfoods.htm |archive-date=28 January 2017 |access-date=18 January 2017 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="Ward83"/> Hence, in more northern temperate areas, browsing and grazing is more common early in spring and later becomes more restricted.<ref name="Mattson"/> Knowing when plants are ripe for eating is a learned behavior.<ref name="Ward83"/> Berries may be foraged in bushes or at the tops of trees, and bears try to maximize the number of berries consumed versus foliage.<ref name="Mattson"/> In autumn, some bear species forage large amounts of naturally [[fermentation|fermented]] fruits, which affects their behavior.<ref name="Rue1981">{{cite book |last=Rue |first=Leonard Lee |url=https://archive.org/details/furbearinganimal0000ruel |title=Furbearing Animals of North America |publisher=Crown Publishers |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-517-53942-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/furbearinganimal0000ruel/page/129 129] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Smaller bears climb trees to obtain [[mast (botany)|mast]] (edible reproductive parts, such as acorns).<ref name="diet">{{cite journal |last=Mattson |first=David J. |year=1998 |title=Diet and Morphology of Extant and Recently Extinct Northern Bears |journal=Ursus |volume=10 |pages=479–496 |jstor=3873160}}</ref> Such masts can be very important to the diets of these species, and mast failures may result in long-range movements by bears looking for alternative food sources.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=Christopher |last2=Pack |first2=James C. |last3=Igo |first3=William K. |last4=Billings |first4=Anthony |year=2007 |title=Influence of mast production on black bear non-hunting mortalities in West Virginia |journal=Ursus |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=46–53 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2007)18[46:IOMPOB]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=59040812}}</ref> Brown bears, with their powerful digging abilities, commonly eat roots.<ref name="Mattson"/> The panda's diet is over 99% bamboo,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lumpkin |first1=Susan |url=https://archive.org/details/giantpandas0000seid/page/63 |title=Giant Pandas |last2=Seidensticker |first2=John |publisher=Collins |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-06-120578-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/giantpandas0000seid/page/63 63]}}</ref> of 30 different species. Its strong jaws are adapted for crushing the tough stems of these plants, though they prefer to eat the more nutritious leaves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=89–92}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dolberg |first=Frands |date=1 August 1992 |title=Progress in the utilization of urea-ammonia treated crop residues: biological and socio-economic aspects of animal production and application of the technology on small farms |url=http://lrrd.cipav.org.co/lrrd4/2/dolberg.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707053325/http://lrrd.cipav.org.co/lrrd4/2/dolberg.htm |archive-date=7 July 2011 |access-date=10 August 2010 |publisher=University of Arhus}}</ref> [[Bromeliad]]s can make up to 50% of the diet of the spectacled bear, which also has strong jaws to bite them open.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=87}}</ref>

[[File:Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) with its prey.jpg|thumb|right|Polar bear feeding on a seal on an ice floe north of [[Svalbard]], Norway. It is the most carnivorous species.]]

The sloth bear is not as specialized as polar bears and the panda, has lost several front teeth usually seen in bears, and developed a long, suctioning tongue to feed on the ants, termites, and other burrowing insects. At certain times of the year, these insects can make up 90% of their diets.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joshi |first1=Anup |last2=Garshelis |first2=David L. |last3=Smith |first3=James L. D. |year=1997 |title=Seasonal and Habitat-Related Diets of Sloth Bears in Nepal |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=1978 |issue=2 |pages=584–597 |bibcode=1997JMamm..78..584J |doi=10.2307/1382910 |jstor=1382910 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Some individuals become addicted to sweets in garbage inside towns where tourism-related waste is generated throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prajapati |first1=Utkarsh |last2=Koli |first2=Vijay K. |last3=Sundar |first3=K.S. Gopi |date=2021 |title=Vulnerable sloth bears are attracted to human food waste: a novel situation in Mount Abu town, India |journal=Oryx |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=699–707 |doi=10.1017/S0030605320000216 |s2cid=233677898 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Some species may raid the nests of [[wasp]]s and bees for the honey and immature insects, in spite of stinging from the adults.<ref>{{cite web |title=What do bears like to eat in a beehive? |url=https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/206-what-do-bears-like-to-eat-in-a-beehive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110920/https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/206-what-do-bears-like-to-eat-in-a-beehive.html |archive-date=6 April 2017 |access-date=5 April 2017 |publisher=North American Bear Center}}</ref> Sun bears use their long tongues to lick up both insects and honey.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=89}}</ref> Fish are an important source of food for some species, and brown bears in particular gather in large numbers at [[salmon run]]s. Typically, a bear plunges into the water and seizes a fish with its jaws or front paws. The preferred parts to eat are the brain and eggs. Small burrowing mammals like [[rodent]]s may be dug out and eaten.<ref name="Ward193"/><ref name="Mattson"/>

The brown/grizzly bear and both species of black bears sometimes take large ungulates, such as deer and [[bovid]]s, mostly the young and weak.<ref name="asiablackdiet"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zager |first1=Peter |last2=Beecham |first2=John |year=2006 |title=The role of American black bears and brown bears as predators on ungulates in North America |journal=Ursus |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=95–108 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2006)17[95:TROABB]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=85857613}}</ref><ref name="Ward193">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=93–98}}</ref> These animals may be taken by a short rush and ambush, though hiding young may be sniffed out and pounced on.<ref name="Mattson">{{cite web |author=Mattson, David |title=Foraging Behavior of North American Bears |url=http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/cprs/research/projects/grizzly/pdf/FORAGINGBEHAVIOROFNORTHAMERICANBEARS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711074612/http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/cprs/research/projects/grizzly/pdf/FORAGINGBEHAVIOROFNORTHAMERICANBEARS.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2007 |publisher=Southwest Biological Science Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Animal Protein |url=https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/84-animal-protein.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323142720/https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/foraging-a-foods/84-animal-protein.html |archive-date=23 March 2017 |access-date=22 March 2017 |publisher=North American bear Center}}</ref> The polar bear mainly preys on seals, stalking them from the ice or breaking into their dens. They primarily eat the highly digestible blubber.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=92}}</ref><ref name="Ward193"/> Large mammalian prey is typically killed with raw strength, including bites and paw swipes, and bears do not display the specialized killing methods of felids and canids.<ref name="Sacco2004">{{cite journal |last1=Sacco |first1=T |last2=Van Valkenburgh |first2=B |year=2004 |title=Ecomorphological indicators of feeding behaviour in the bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=263 |issue=1 |pages=41–54 |doi=10.1017/S0952836904004856}}</ref> Predatory behavior in bears is typically taught to the young by the mother.<ref name="Ward193"/>

Bears are prolific [[scavenger]]s and [[kleptoparasite]]s, stealing food caches from rodents, and carcasses from other predators.<ref name="nps"/><ref>{{cite web |department=COSEWIC. Canadian Wildlife Service |year=2002 |title=Assessment and Update Status Report on the Grizzly Bear (''Ursus arctos'') |url=http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CW69-14-166-2002E.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919042430/https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CW69-14-166-2002E.pdf |archive-date=19 September 2022 |access-date=8 April 2007 |publisher=[[Environment Canada]]}}</ref> For hibernating species, weight gain is important as it provides nourishment during winter dormancy. A brown bear can eat {{cvt|41|kg}} of food and gain {{cvt|2|–|3|kg}} of fat a day prior to entering its den.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=104}}</ref>

===Communication===
[[File:Ursus thibetanus 01.JPG|thumb|left|Captive [[Asian black bear]]s during an aggressive encounter]]

Bears produce a number of vocal and non-vocal sounds. Tongue-clicking, grunting or chuffing may be made in cordial situations, such as between mothers and cubs or courting couples, while moaning, huffing, snorting or blowing air is made when an individual is stressed. Barking is produced during times of alarm, excitement or to give away the animal's position. Warning sounds include jaw-clicking and lip-popping, while teeth-chatters, bellows, growls, roars and pulsing sounds are made in aggressive encounters. Cubs may squeal, bawl, bleat or scream when in distress and make motor-like humming when comfortable or nursing.<ref name="Ward117">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=117–121}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Naughton |first=D. |title=The Natural History of Canadian Mammals: Opossums and Carnivores |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4426-4483-0 |pages=218–219, 236, 251–252}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vocalizations and Body Language |url=https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/communication/29-vocalizations-a-body-language.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223132123/https://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/communication/29-vocalizations-a-body-language.html |archive-date=23 December 2016 |access-date=7 January 2017 |publisher=North American Bear Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Masterson |first=Linda |title=Living With Bears Handbook: Expanded 2nd Edition |publisher=PixyJack Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-936555-61-1 |pages=215–16}}</ref><ref name="Petersetal2007">{{cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=G. |last2=Owen |first2=M. |last3=Rogers |first3=L. |year=2007 |title=Humming in bears: a peculiar sustained mammalian vocalization |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227146528 |url-status=live |journal=Acta Theriologica |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=379–389 |doi=10.1007/BF03194236 |s2cid=24886480 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203154521/http://www.researchgate.net/publication/227146528_Humming_in_bears_a_peculiar_sustained_mammalian_vocalization/file/3deec5187efc99c3fc.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2014 |access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laurie |first1=A. |last2=Seidensticker |first2=J. |year=1977 |title=Behavioural ecology of the Sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229976355 |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=182 |issue=2 |pages=187–204 |bibcode=1977JZoo..182..187L |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1977.tb04155.x |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327170117/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Seidensticker/publication/229976355_Behavioural_ecology_of_the_Sloth_bear_Melursus_ursinus/links/53db8a9e0cf2a76fb667a2d1.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2017 |access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Standing Sloth Bear.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sloth bear]] rubbing against a tree at [[Nagarhole Tiger Reserve]], India]]

Bears sometimes communicate with visual displays such as standing upright, which exaggerates the individual's size. The chest markings of some species may add to this intimidating display. Staring is an aggressive act and the facial markings of spectacled bears and giant pandas may help draw attention to the eyes during [[Agonistic behavior|agonistic]] encounters.<ref name="Ward124">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=124–125}}</ref> Individuals may approach each other by stiff-legged walking with the head lowered. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing the [[canine teeth]], muzzle twisting and neck stretching.  A subordinate may respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down.<ref name="Stonorov">{{cite journal |last1=Stonorov |first1=D. |last2=Stokes |first2=A. W. |year=1972 |title=Social behavior of the Alaska brown bear |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_2/Stonorov_Stokes.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=2 |pages=232–242 |doi=10.2307/3872587 |jstor=3872587 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722184419/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_2/Stonorov_Stokes.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2013 |access-date=11 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Jordan |first=R. H. |year=1976 |title=Threat behavior of the black bear (''Ursus americanus'') |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=40 |pages=57–63 |doi=10.2307/3872754 |jstor=3872754 |s2cid=89660730}}</ref>

Bears also communicate with their scent by urinating on<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Elbroch |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGHgFgtJDQYC&dq=urine+rubbing&pg=PA194 |title=Field Guide to Animal Tracks and Scat of California |last2=Kresky |first2=Michael |last3=Evans |first3=Jonah Wy |date=11 February 2012 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25378-0 |language=en}}</ref> or rubbing against trees and other objects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clapham |first1=M |last2=Nevin |first2=O. T. |last3=Ramsey |first3=A. D. |last4=Rossell |first4=F |year=2014 |title=Scent-marking investment and motor patterns are affected by the age and sex of wild brown bears |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=94 |pages=107–116 |bibcode=2014AnBeh..94..107C |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.05.017 |s2cid=54371123 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/13432562 }}</ref> This is usually accompanied by clawing and biting the object. Bark may be spread around to draw attention to the marking post.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=122}}</ref> Pandas establish territories by marking objects with urine and a waxy substance from their anal glands.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nie |first1=Y. |last2=Swaisgood |first2=R. R. |last3=Zhang |first3=Z. |last4=Hu |first4=Y. |last5=Ma |first5=Y. |last6=Wei |first6=F. |year=2012 |title=Giant panda scent-marking strategies in the wild: role of season, sex and marking surface |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=39–44 |bibcode=2012AnBeh..84...39N |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.026 |s2cid=53256022}}</ref> Polar bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Owen |first1=M. A. |last2=Swaisgood |first2=R. R. |last3=Slocomb |first3=C. |last4=Amstrup |first4=S. C. |last5=Durner |first5=G. M. |last6=Simac |first6=K. |last7=Pessier |first7=A. P. |year=2014 |title=An experimental investigation of chemical communication in the polar bear |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=295 |issue=1 |pages=36–43 |doi=10.1111/jzo.12181}}</ref>

===Reproduction and development{{anchor|Breeding}}===
{{Redirect|Bear cub|the 2004 film|Bear Cub}}
[[File:Black Bears mating.jpg|thumb|left|American black bears mating at the [[North American Bear Center]]]]

The mating system of bears has variously been described as a form of [[Polygyny in animals|polygyny]], [[Promiscuity#Other animals|promiscuity]] and [[serial monogamy]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eide |first1=S. |last2=Miller |first2=S. |title=Brown Bear |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/brown_bear.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303124834/http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/brown_bear.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2013 |access-date=14 January 2016 |publisher=Alaska Department of Fish and Game}}</ref><ref name="Ward138">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=138–141}}</ref><ref name="mammalian">{{cite journal |last=Lariviere |first=S. |year=2001 |title=Ursus americanus |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/647_Ursus_americanus.pdf |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=647 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2001)647<0001:ua>2.0.co;2 |s2cid=198968922 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316025524/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/647_Ursus_americanus.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2016}}</ref> During the breeding season, males take notice of females in their vicinity and females become more tolerant of males. A male bear may visit a female continuously over a period of several days or weeks, depending on the species, to test her reproductive state. During this time period, males try to prevent rivals from interacting with their mate. Courtship may be brief, although in some Asian species, courting pairs may engage in wrestling, hugging, mock fighting and vocalizing. [[Induced ovulation (animals)|Ovulation is induced by mating]], which can last up to 30 minutes depending on the species.<ref name="Ward138"/>

[[File:Cub polar bear is nursing 2.OGG|thumb|[[Polar bear]] mother nursing her cub]]
[[Gestation]] typically lasts six to nine months, including [[delayed implantation]], and litter size numbers up to four cubs.<ref name="Ward144">{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=144–148}}</ref> Giant pandas may give birth to twins but they can only suckle one young and the other is left to die.<ref name="Panda Facts">{{cite web |title=Panda Facts |url=http://www.pandasinternational.org/wptemp/education-2/panda-facts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924063658/http://www.pandasinternational.org/wptemp/education-2/panda-facts/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=26 August 2015 |publisher=Pandas International}}</ref> In northern living species, birth takes place during winter dormancy. Cubs are born blind and helpless with at most a thin layer of hair, relying on their mother for warmth. The milk of the female bear is rich in fat and antibodies and cubs may suckle for up to a year after they are born. By two to three months, cubs can follow their mother outside the den. They usually follow her on foot, but sloth bear cubs may ride on their mother's back.<ref name="Ward144"/><ref name="Walker">{{cite book |last=Nowak |first=R. M. |url=https://archive.org/details/walkerscarnivore0000nowa/page/114 |title=Walker's Carnivores of the World |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8018-8032-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/walkerscarnivore0000nowa/page/114 114]}}</ref> Male bears play no role in raising young. [[Infanticide (zoology)|Infanticide]], where an adult male kills the cubs of another, has been recorded in polar bears, brown bears and American black bears but not in other species.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=132}}</ref> Males kill young to bring the female into [[estrus]].<ref name="Bellemain">{{cite journal |last1=Bellemain |first1=Eva |last2=Swenson |first2=Jon E. |last3=Taberlet |first3=Pierre |year=2006 |title=Mating Strategies in Relation to Sexually Selected Infanticide in a Non-Social Carnivore: The Brown Bear |url=http://bearproject.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2006-A060-Bellemain-Mating-Strategies-in-relation-to-SSI.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Ethology |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=238–246 |bibcode=2006Ethol.112..238B |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01152.x |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221015155/http://bearproject.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2006-A060-Bellemain-Mating-Strategies-in-relation-to-SSI.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2016 |access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref> Cubs may flee and the mother defends them even at the cost of her life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bellemain |first1=E. |last2=Zedrosser |first2=A. |last3=Manel |first3=S. |last4=Waits |first4=L. P. |last5=Taberlet |first5=P. |last6=Swenson |first6=J. E. |year=2005 |title=The dilemma of female mate selection in the brown bear, a species with sexually selected infanticide |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |volume=273 |issue=1584 |pages=283–291 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3331 |pmc=1560043 |pmid=16543170}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swenson |first1=J. E. |last2=Dahle |first2=B. |last3=Sandegren |first3=F. |year=2001 |title=Intraspecific predation in Scandinavian brown bears older than cubs-of-the-year |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237374836 |url-status=live |journal=Ursus |volume=12 |pages=81–91 |jstor=3873233 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116185901/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237374836_Intraspecific_predation_in_Scandinavian_brown_bears_older_than_cubs-of-year |archive-date=16 November 2017 |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Mörner">{{cite journal |last1=Mörner |first1=T. |last2=Eriksson |first2=H. |last3=Bröjer |first3=C. |last4=Nilsson |first4=K. |last5=Uhlhorn |first5=H. |last6=E. |last7=af Segerstad |first7=C.H. |last8=Jansson |first8=D.S. |last9=Gavier-Widén |first9=D. |year=2005 |title=Diseases and mortality in free-ranging brown bear (''Ursus arctos''), gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), and wolverine (''Gulo gulo'') in Sweden |journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=298–303 |doi=10.7589/0090-3558-41.2.298 |pmid=16107663 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In some species, offspring may become independent around the next spring, though some may stay until the female successfully mates again. Bears reach [[sexual maturity]] shortly after they disperse; at around three to six years depending on the species. Male Alaskan brown bears and polar bears may continue to grow until they are 11 years old.<ref name="Ward144"/> Lifespan may also vary between species. The brown bear can live an average of 25 years.<ref>{{cite web |date=10 September 2010 |title=Grizzly Bear |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/grizzly-bear/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421214527/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/g/grizzly-bear/ |archive-date=21 April 2017 |access-date=29 April 2017 |publisher=National Geographic.com}}</ref>

===Hibernation{{anchor|Winter_dormancy}}===
{{main|Hibernation}}

Bears of northern regions, including the [[American black bear#Hibernation|American black bear]] and the much larger [[Grizzly bear#Hibernation|grizzly bear]], hibernate in the winter.<ref name="Science2011">{{cite journal |last=Heldmeier |first=Gerhard |year=2011 |title=Life on low flame in hibernation |journal=Science |volume=331 |issue=6019 |pages=866–867 |bibcode=2011Sci...331..866H |doi=10.1126/science.1203192 |pmid=21330523 |s2cid=31514297}}</ref><ref name="Shimozuru2013">{{cite journal |last=Shimozuru |first=M. |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=Pregnancy during hibernation in Japanese black bears: effects on body temperature and blood biochemical profiles |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=618–627 |doi=10.1644/12-MAMM-A-246.1 |s2cid=86174817 |doi-access=free}}</ref> During hibernation, the bear's metabolism slows down, its body temperature decreases by {{convert|4|-|7|C-change}},<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=Blair W. |last2=Jansen |first2=Heiko T. |last3=Enstrom |first3=Alexis N. |last4=Kelley |first4=Joanna L. |date=25 November 2025 |title=Genomic Insights into Bear Hibernation |journal=Annual Review of Genetics |language=en |volume=59 |issue=<!--none--> |pages=147–164 |doi=10.1146/annurev-genet-011725-092458 |pmid=40614081 |issn=0066-4197|doi-access=free }}</ref> and its heart rate slows from a normal value of 55 to as low as 9 beats per minute.<ref name="Toien2011">{{cite journal |last=Tøien |first=Ø. |display-authors=etal |year=2011 |title=Hibernation in Black Bears: Independence of Metabolic Suppression from Body Temperature |journal=Science |volume=331 |issue=6019 |pages=906–909 |bibcode=2011Sci...331..906T |doi=10.1126/science.1199435 |pmid=21330544 |s2cid=20829847}}</ref> In order for their heart rate to slow down to this level during hibernation, a protein found in striated muscle, like the heart, called myosin must enter a super-relaxed state. In the super-relaxed state, the consumption of ATP is kept very low, allowing the bear to make it through the winter without losing all of its energy due to the basic functions such as pumping blood through the body.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Van der Pijl |first1=Robbert J. |last2=Ma |first2=Weikang |last3=Lewis |first3=Christopher T. A. |last4=Haar |first4=Line |last5=Buhl |first5=Amalie |last6=Farman |first6=Gerrie P. |last7=Rhodehamel |first7=Marcus |last8=Jani |first8=Vivek P. |last9=Nelson |first9=O Lynne |last10=Zhang |first10=Chengxin |last11=Granzier |first11=Henk |last12=Ochala |first12=Julien |date=1 February 2025 |title=Increased cardiac myosin super-relaxation as an energy saving mechanism in hibernating grizzly bears |journal=Molecular Metabolism |volume=92 |doi=10.1016/j.molmet.2024.102084 |issn=2212-8778 |pmc=11732570 |pmid=39694092 |article-number=102084}}</ref> Bears normally do not wake during their hibernation, and can go the entire period without eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating.<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/> A [[fecal plug]] is formed in the colon, and is expelled when the bear wakes in the spring.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Biel |first1=M |last2=Gunther |first2=K |title=Denning and Hibernation Behavior |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/denning.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118101716/https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/denning.htm |archive-date=18 November 2016 |access-date=18 November 2016 |website=Yellowstone National Park |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> If they have stored enough body fat, their muscles remain in good condition, and their protein maintenance requirements are met from recycling waste [[urea]].<ref name="Marshall Cavendish"/> While larger bears have a larger supply of body fat to keep them alive through hibernation, researchers found that smaller bears were able to hibernate longer than their larger counterparts due to them being able to sustain a lower body temperature, which translates to less energy being spent on keeping their bodies warm.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Alina L. |last2=Fuchs |first2=Boris |last3=Singh |first3=Navinder J. |last4=Thiel |first4=Alexandra |last5=Giroud |first5=Sylvain |last6=Blanc |first6=Stephane |last7=Laske |first7=Timothy G. |last8=Frobert |first8=Ole |last9=Friebe |first9=Andrea |last10=Swenson |first10=Jon E. |last11=Arnemo |first11=Jon M. |date=17 August 2023 |title=Body mass is associated with hibernation length, body temperature, and heart rate in free-ranging brown bears |journal=Frontiers in Zoology |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=27 |doi=10.1186/s12983-023-00501-3 |issn=1742-9994 |pmc=10433566 |pmid=37587452 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Female bears give birth during the hibernation period, and are roused when doing so.<ref name="Shimozuru2013"/>

===Mortality===
[[File:Björnjakt i Dalarna - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0052736.jpg|thumb|right|Hunters with shot bear, Sweden, early 20th century. This photograph is in the [[Nordic Museum]].]]

Bears do not have many predators. The most important are humans, and as they started cultivating crops, they increasingly came in conflict with the bears that raided them. Since the invention of firearms, people have been able to kill bears with greater ease.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McTaggart Cowan |first=I. |year=1972 |title=The Status and Conservation of Bears (Ursidae) of the World: 1970 |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=2 |pages=343–367 |citeseerx=10.1.1.483.1402 |doi=10.2307/3872596 |jstor=3872596}}</ref> [[Felid]]s like the tiger may also prey on bears,<ref name="Seryodkin_PhD">{{cite book |last=Seryodkin |first=Ivan |url=http://uml.wl.dvgu.ru/rscv.php?id=74 |title=The ecology, behavior, management and conservation status of brown bears in Sikhote-Alin |publisher=Far Eastern National University, Vladivostok, Russia |year=2006 |pages=1–252 |language=ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224090426/http://uml.wl.dvgu.ru/rscv.php?id=74 |archive-date=24 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="Denning">{{cite journal |last=Seryodkin |first=Ivan |display-authors=etal |year=2003 |title=Denning ecology of brown bears and Asiatic black bears in the Russian Far East |url=http://www.wcsrussia.org/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/Download.aspx?EntryId=3313&PortalId=32&DownloadMethod=attachment |url-status=live |journal=Ursus |volume=14 |issue=2 |page=159 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817151324/http://www.wcsrussia.org/DesktopModules/Bring2mind/DMX/Download.aspx?EntryId=3313&PortalId=32&DownloadMethod=attachment |archive-date=17 August 2011 |access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref> particularly cubs, which may also be threatened by canids.<ref name=Servheen1999/><ref name=mammalian/>

Bears are parasitized by eighty species of parasites, including single-celled protozoans and gastro-intestinal worms, and nematodes and flukes in their heart, liver, lungs and bloodstream. Externally, they have ticks, fleas and lice. A study of American black bears found seventeen species of endoparasite including the protozoan ''[[Sarcocystis]]'', the parasitic worm ''[[Diphyllobothrium mansonoides]]'', and the nematodes ''[[Dirofilaria immitis]]'', ''[[Capillaria aerophila]]'', ''[[Physaloptera]]'' sp., ''[[Strongyloides]]'' sp. and others. Of these, ''D. mansonoides'' and adult ''C. aerophila'' were causing pathological symptoms.<ref name="Crum">{{cite journal |last1=Crum |first1=James M. |last2=Nettles |first2=Victor F. |last3=Davidson |first3=William R. |year=1978 |title=Studies on endoparasites of the black bear (''Ursus americanus'') in the southeastern United States |journal=Journal of Wildlife Diseases |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=178–186 |doi=10.7589/0090-3558-14.2.178 |pmid=418189 |doi-access=free}}</ref> By contrast, polar bears have few parasites; many parasitic species need a secondary, usually terrestrial, host, and the polar bear's life style is such that few alternative hosts exist in their environment. The protozoan ''[[Toxoplasma gondii]]'' has been found in polar bears, and the nematode ''[[Trichinella nativa]]'' can cause a serious infection and decline in older polar bears.<ref name="Derocher">{{cite book |last=Derocher |first=Andrew E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aouJPNt1P4gC&pg=PT212 |title=Polar Bears: A Complete Guide to Their Biology and Behavior |publisher=JHU Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4214-0305-2 |page=212}}</ref> Bears in North America are sometimes infected by a ''[[Morbillivirus]]'' similar to the [[Canine distemper|canine distemper virus]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1lIR14667cC&pg=PA167 |title=Emergence and Control of Zoonotic Ortho- and Paramyxovirus Diseases |publisher=John Libbey Eurotext |year=2001 |isbn=978-2-7420-0392-1 |page=167}}</ref> They are susceptible to [[infectious canine hepatitis]] (CAV-1), with free-living black bears dying rapidly of encephalitis and hepatitis.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Elizabeth S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJDsAU-NWiYC&pg=PA203 |title=Infectious Diseases of Wild Mammals |last2=Barker |first2=Ian K. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-470-34481-1 |page=203}}</ref>

==Relationship with humans==

===Conservation===

{{main|Bear conservation}}

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |
|image1=Chengdu-pandas-d10.jpg|caption1=Giant pandas at the [[Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries]] 
|image2=Bear trap GTNP1.jpg|caption2=A barrel trap in [[Grand Teton National Park]], [[Wyoming]], used to relocate bears away from where they might [[bear attack|attack humans]].
}}

In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats<ref name="WWFbrownbear">{{cite web |title=Brown Bear – Threats Grizzlies: Found in 2% of their former range |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/mammals/brown_bear2/brownbear_threats/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221195824/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/mammals/brown_bear2/brownbear_threats/ |archive-date=21 December 2016 |access-date=16 January 2017 |publisher=WWF}}</ref> and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian [[bile bear]] market, though hunting is now banned, largely replaced by farming.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bacon |first1=Heather |date=12 May 2008 |title=Implications of bear bile farming |url=https://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/implications-of-bear-bile-farming/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118031507/https://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/implications-of-bear-bile-farming/ |archive-date=18 January 2017 |access-date=16 January 2017 |publisher=Vet Times}}</ref> The [[World Conservation Union|IUCN]] lists six bear species as [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]];<ref name="IUCN">{{Cite web |title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=101398&searchType=species |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404010539/https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=101398&searchType=species |archive-date=4 April 2024 |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species}}</ref> even the two [[least concern]] species, the brown bear and the American black bear,<ref name="IUCN" /> are at risk of [[Local extinction|extirpation]] in certain areas. In general, these two species inhabit remote areas with little interaction with humans, and the main non-natural causes of mortality are hunting, trapping, road-kill and depredation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pelton |first1=Michael R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXQ03uVmCAIC&pg=PR144 |title=Chapter 8. American Black Bear Conservation Action Plan |last2=Coley |first2=Alex B. |last3=Eason |first3=Thomas H. |last4=Doan Martinez |first4=Diana L. |last5=Pederson |first5=Joel A. |last6=van Manen |first6=Frank T. |last7=Weaver |first7=Keith M. |publisher=IUCN |year=1999 |isbn=978-2-8317-0462-3 |pages=144–156}}</ref>

Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears from [[habitat destruction]]. Public perception of bears is often positive, as people identify with bears due to their omnivorous diets, their ability to stand on two legs, and their symbolic importance.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kellert |first=Stephen |year=1994 |title=Public Attitudes toward Bears and Their Conservation |journal=Bears: Their Biology and Management |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=43–50 |doi=10.2307/3872683 |jstor=3872683 |s2cid=39632061}}</ref> Support for bear protection is widespread, at least in more affluent societies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andersone |first1=Žanete |last2=Ozolinš |first2=Jānis |year=2004 |title=Public perception of large carnivores in Latvia |journal=Ursus |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=181–187 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2004)015<0181:PPOLCI>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=58919830}}</ref> The giant panda has become a worldwide symbol of conservation. The [[Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries]], which are home to around 30% of the wild panda population, gained a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] designation in 2006.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 July 2006 |title=Pandas gain world heritage status |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5174854.stm |access-date=22 August 2019 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Where bears raid crops or attack livestock, they may come into conflict with humans.<ref name="livestock">{{cite journal |last1=Goldstein |first1=Isaac |last2=Paisley |first2=Susanna |last3=Wallace |first3=Robert |last4=Jorgenson |first4=Jeffrey P. |last5=Cuesta |first5=Francisc |last6=Castellanos |first6=Armando |year=2006 |title=Andean bear–livestock conflicts: a review |journal=Ursus |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=8–15 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2006)17[8:ABCAR]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=55185188}}</ref><ref name="crops">{{cite journal |last=Fredriksson |first=Gabriella |year=2005 |title=Human–sun bear conflicts in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo |journal=Ursus |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=130–137 |doi=10.2192/1537-6176(2005)016[0130:HBCIEK]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=26961091}}</ref> In poorer rural regions, attitudes may be more shaped by the dangers posed by bears, and the economic costs they cause to farmers and ranchers.<ref name="livestock"/>

===Attacks===

{{Main|Bear attack}}

Several bear species are [[bear danger|dangerous to humans]], especially in areas where they have become used to people; elsewhere, they generally avoid humans. [[Bear attack|Injuries caused by bears]] are rare, but are widely reported.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clark |first=Douglas |year=2003 |title=Polar Bear–Human Interactions in Canadian National Parks, 1986–2000 |url=http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_14_1/Clark_Douglas_14_1.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Ursus |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=65–71 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722191859/http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_14_1/Clark_Douglas_14_1.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2013 |access-date=22 December 2012}}</ref> Bears such as [[Grizzly bear|grizzlies]] may attack humans in response to being startled, in defense of young or food, or even for predatory reasons.<ref>{{cite web |last=Than |first=K. |date=2013 |title=Maulings by Bears: What's Behind the Recent Attacks? |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/maulings-by-bears--what-s-behind-the-recent-attacks-/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128084840/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/maulings-by-bears--what-s-behind-the-recent-attacks-/ |archive-date=28 January 2017 |access-date=16 January 2017 |publisher=National Geographic.com}}</ref>

===Entertainment, hunting, food and folk medicine===

Bears in captivity have for centuries been used for entertainment. They have been trained to [[dancing bear|dance]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Findeizen |first=Nikolai |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZexDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT201 |title=History of Music in Russia from Antiquity to 1800, Vol. 1: From Antiquity to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-253-02637-8 |page=201}}</ref> and were kept for [[Bear-baiting|baiting]] in Europe from at least the 16th century. There were five bear-baiting gardens in [[Southwark]], London, at that time; archaeological remains of three of these have survived.<ref>{{cite web |date=26 September 2016 |title=Elizabethan Playhouses and Bear Baiting Arenas Given Protection |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/elizabethan-playhouses-and-bear-baiting-arenas-given-protection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104234622/https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/elizabethan-playhouses-and-bear-baiting-arenas-given-protection |archive-date=4 January 2017 |access-date=4 January 2017 |publisher=Historic England}}</ref> Across Europe, [[nomad]]ic [[Romani people|Romani]] bear handlers called [[Ursari]] lived by busking with their bears from the 12th century.<ref name="Fraser">{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Angus M. |url=https://archive.org/details/gypsies0000fras |title=The Gypsies |publisher=Blackwell |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-631-19605-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gypsies0000fras/page/45 45]–48, 226 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[Bear hunting|Bears have been hunted]] for sport, food, and folk medicine. Their meat is dark and stringy, like a tough cut of beef. In [[Cantonese cuisine]], bear paws are considered a delicacy. Bear meat should be cooked thoroughly, as it can be infected with the parasite ''[[Trichinella spiralis]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trichinellosis Associated with Bear Meat |url=https://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5327a2.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930201027/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5327a2.htm |archive-date=30 September 2006 |access-date=4 October 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=21 December 1997 |title=Bear meat poisoning in Siberia |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/41529.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211191933/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/41529.stm |archive-date=11 December 2008 |access-date=4 October 2006 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

The peoples of eastern Asia use bears' body parts and secretions (notably their gallbladders and bile) as part of [[traditional Chinese medicine]]. More than 12,000 bears are thought to be kept on farms in China, Vietnam, and South Korea for the production of bile. Trade in bear products is prohibited under [[CITES]], but bear bile has been detected in shampoos, wine and herbal medicines sold in Canada, the United States and Australia.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |last=Black |first=Richard |date=11 June 2007 |title=BBC Test kit targets cruel bear trade |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6742671.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115175324/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6742671.stm |archive-date=15 January 2009 |access-date=1 January 2010 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:The dancing bear by William Frederick Witherington.jpg|''The Dancing Bear'' by [[William Frederick Witherington]], 1822
File:Theodor Aman - Ursarul.jpg|A nomadic ''[[ursar]]'', a [[Romani people|Romani]] bear-busker. Drawing by [[Theodor Aman]], 1888
</gallery>

{{anchor|Literature, art and symbolism}}
===Cultural depictions===

<!-- Please do not add any more examples to this section. This subject already has its own article -->
{{main|Cultural depictions of bears}}
{{see also|Bear in heraldry}}

Bears have been popular subjects in art, literature, folklore and mythology. The image of the mother bear was prevalent throughout societies in North America and Eurasia, based on the female's devotion and protection of her cubs.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=12–13}}</ref> In many [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] cultures, the bear is a symbol of rebirth because of its hibernation and re-emergence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|p=17}}</ref> A widespread belief among cultures of North America and northern Asia associated bears with [[shaman]]; this may be based on the solitary nature of both. Bears have thus been thought to predict the future and shaman were believed to have been capable of transforming into bears.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ward|Kynaston|1995|pp=20–21}}</ref>

There is evidence of prehistoric [[bear worship]], though this is disputed by archaeologists.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wunn |first=Ina |year=2000 |title=Beginning of Religion |journal=[[Numen (journal)|Numen]] |volume=47 |pages=417–452 |doi=10.1163/156852700511612 |s2cid=53595088 |number=4}}</ref> It is possible that bear worship existed in early Chinese and [[Ainu religion|Ainu culture]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kindaichi |first1=Kyōsuke |last2=Yoshida |first2=Minori |date=Winter 1949 |title=The Concepts behind the Ainu Bear Festival (Kumamatsuri) |journal=Southwestern Journal of Anthropology |volume=5 |pages=345–350 |doi=10.1086/soutjanth.5.4.3628594 |jstor=3628594 |s2cid=155380619 |number=4}}</ref> The prehistoric Finns,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bonser |first=Wilfrid |year=1928 |title=The mythology of the Kalevala, with notes on bear-worship among the Finns |journal=Folklore |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=344–358 |doi=10.1080/0015587x.1928.9716794 |jstor=1255969}}</ref> Siberian peoples<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaussonnet |first=Valerie |title=Native Cultures of Alaska and Siberia |publisher=Arctic Studies Center |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-56098-661-4 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=112}}</ref> and more recently Koreans considered the bear as the spirit of their forefathers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Jung Young |title=Korean Shamanistic Rituals |date=1981 |publisher=Mouton De Gruyter |isbn=978-90-279-3378-2 |pages=14, 20}}</ref> [[Artio]] (''Dea Artio'' in the [[Gallo-Roman religion]]) was a Celtic bear goddess. Evidence of her worship has notably been found at [[Bern]], itself named for the bear. Her name is derived from the Celtic word for "bear", ''artos''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C |title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites |date=2006 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7 |page=57}}</ref> In ancient Greece, the archaic cult of [[Artemis]] in bear form survived into Classical times at [[Brauron]], where young Athenian girls passed an initiation rite as ''arktoi'' "she bears".<ref>Burkert, Walter, ''Greek Religion'', 1985:263.</ref>

The constellations of Ursa Major and [[Ursa Minor]], the great and little bears, are named for their supposed resemblance to bears, from the time of [[Ptolemy]].{{Efn|Ptolemy named the constellations in Greek: {{lang|grc|Ἄρκτος μεγάλη}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Arktos Megale}}) and {{lang|grc|Ἄρκτος μικρά}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Arktos Mikra}}), the great and little bears.<ref name="Ridpath">{{cite web |last1=Ridpath |first1=Ian |author-link=Ian Ridpath |title=Ptolemy's Almagest First printed edition, 1515 |url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/almagest.htm |access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref>}}<ref name=UrsaMajor/> The nearby star [[Arcturus]] means "guardian of the bear", as if it were watching the two constellations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liddell |first1=Henry George |last2=Scott |first2=Robert |title=Ἀρκτοῦρος |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*%29arktou%3Dros |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307140100/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*%29arktou%3Dros |archive-date=7 March 2017 |access-date=23 January 2017 |work=A Greek-English Lexicon |publisher=Perseus}}</ref> Ursa Major has been associated with a bear for as much as 13,000 years since [[Paleolithic]] times, in the widespread [[Cosmic Hunt]] myths. These are found on both sides of the [[Beringia|Bering land bridge]], which was lost to the sea some 11,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Schaefer |first=Bradley E. |date=November 2006 |title=The Origin of the Greek Constellations: Was the Great Bear constellation named before hunter nomads first reached the Americas more than 13,000 years ago? |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |postscript=,}} reviewed at {{cite web|last=Brown|first=Miland|url=http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2006/10/origin-of-greek-constellations.html|title=The Origin of the Greek Constellations|work=World History Blog|date=30 October 2006|access-date=9 April 2017|postscript=;|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401164801/http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2006/10/origin-of-greek-constellations.html|archive-date=1 April 2017|url-status=live}} {{cite journal|last=Berezkin|first=Yuri|title=The cosmic hunt: variants of a Siberian – North-American myth|journal=Folklore|volume=31|year=2005|pages=79–100|doi=10.7592/FEJF2005.31.berezkin|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Bears are popular in children's stories, including [[Winnie the Pooh]],<ref>{{cite web |date=24 December 2005 |title=Pooh celebrates his 80th birthday |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4552940.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060425143300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4552940.stm |archive-date=25 April 2006 |access-date=23 January 2017 |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> [[Paddington Bear]],<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.paddington.com/global/about/timeline/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817131744/http://paddington.com/global/about/timeline/ |archive-date=17 August 2016 |access-date=19 January 2017 |website=Paddington.com}}</ref> [[Gentle Ben]]<ref>{{cite web |date=14 January 1992 |title=Walt Morey, 84; Author of 'Gentle Ben' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-14-mn-245-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023134546/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-14/news/mn-245_1_gentle-ben |archive-date=23 October 2016 |access-date=6 April 2017 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and "[[The Brown Bear of Norway]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts |date=1866 |publisher=Macmillan |editor-last=Kennedy |editor-first=Patrick |pages=57–67 |chapter=The Brown Bear of Norway |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfdLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA57}}</ref> An early version of "[[Goldilocks and the Three Bears]]",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Elms |first=Alan C. |date=July–September 1977 |title="The Three Bears": Four Interpretations |journal=[[The Journal of American Folklore]] |volume=90 |issue=357 |pages=257–273 |doi=10.2307/539519 |jstor=539519}}</ref> was published as "The Three Bears" in 1837 by [[Robert Southey]], many times retold, and illustrated in 1918 by [[Arthur Rackham]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ashliman |first=D. L. |author-link=D. L. Ashliman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_WyX-DD43YC&pg=PA114 |title=Folk and Fairy Tales: A Handbook |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-32810-7 |pages=114–115}}</ref> The [[Hanna-Barbera]] character [[Yogi Bear]] has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mallory |first=Michael |title=Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |date=1998 |publisher=Hugh Lauter Levin |isbn=978-0-88363-108-9 |page=44}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Browne |first1=Ray B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&pg=PA944 |title=The Guide to United States Popular Culture |last2=Browne |first2=Pat |publisher=Popular Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87972-821-2 |page=944}}</ref> The [[Care Bears]] began as greeting cards in 1982, and were featured as toys, on clothing and in film.<ref>{{cite news |last=Holmes |first=Elizabeth |date=9 February 2007 |title=Care Bears Receive a (Gentle) Makeover |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117097911465002983 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118182314/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117097911465002983 |archive-date=18 January 2018 |access-date=27 January 2017 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]}}</ref> Around the world, many children—and some adults—have [[teddy bear]]s, stuffed toys in the form of bears, named after the American statesman [[Theodore Roosevelt]] when in 1902 he had refused to shoot an American black bear tied to a tree.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cannadine |first=David |author-link=David Cannadine |date=1 February 2013 |title=A Point of View: The grownups with teddy bears |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21265701 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425025929/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21265701 |archive-date=25 April 2017 |access-date=21 January 2017 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Bears, like other animals, may symbolize nations. The [[Russian Bear]] has been a common national personification for Russia from the 16th century onward.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 April 2009 |title=What the West thinks about Russia is not necessarily true |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/rbth/5207026/What-the-West-thinks-about-Russia-is-not-necessarily-true.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151206043929/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/rbth/5207026/What-the-West-thinks-about-Russia-is-not-necessarily-true.html |archive-date=6 December 2015 |access-date=3 January 2017 |newspaper=Telegraph}}</ref> [[Smokey Bear]] has become a part of American culture since his introduction in 1944, with his message "Only you can prevent forest fires".<ref>{{cite web |date=9 August 1944 |title=Forest Fire Prevention – Smokey Bear (1944–Present) |url=http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=129 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202162355/http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=129 |archive-date=2 December 2010 |access-date=16 October 2010 |publisher=Ad Council}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:The Three Bears - Project Gutenberg eText 17034.jpg|"The Three Bears", [[Arthur Rackham]]'s illustration to ''English Fairy Tales'', by [[Flora Annie Steel]], 1918
File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Ursa Major.jpg|The [[constellation]] of [[Ursa Major]] as depicted in [[Urania's Mirror]], c. 1825
</gallery>

===Organizations===

[[File:Baby Pandas.JPG|thumb|right|Juvenile pandas at the [[Chengdu]] Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding]]

The International Association for Bear Research & Management, also known as the [[International Bear Association]], and the [[Bear Specialist Group]] of the Species Survival Commission, a part of the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] focus on the natural history, management, and conservation of bears. Bear Trust International works for wild bears and other wildlife through four core program initiatives, namely Conservation Education, Wild Bear Research, Wild Bear Management, and Habitat Conservation.<ref>{{cite web |date=2002–2012 |title=Vision and Mission |url=http://beartrust.org/vision-and-mission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226195504/http://beartrust.org/vision-and-mission |archive-date=26 February 2014 |access-date=8 March 2014 |website=Bear Trust International}}</ref>

Specialty organizations for each of the eight species of bears worldwide include:
* Vital Ground, for the brown bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Vital Ground |url=http://www.vitalground.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120033225/https://www.vitalground.org/ |archive-date=20 January 2019 |access-date=5 February 2019}}</ref>
* Moon Bears, for the Asiatic black bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Moon Bears |url=http://www.moonbears.org/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309053102/http://www.moonbears.org/index.html |archive-date=9 March 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}</ref>
* Black Bear Conservation Coalition, for the North American black bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Bear Conservation Coalition |url=http://www.bbcc.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103020114/http://www.bbcc.org/ |archive-date=3 January 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}</ref>
* Polar Bears International, for the polar bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Polar Bears International |url=http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308234451/http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/ |archive-date=8 March 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}</ref>
* Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, for the sun bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre |url=http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218113140/http://sunbears.wildlifedirect.org/ |archive-date=18 February 2014}}</ref>
* Wildlife SOS, for the sloth bear<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wildlife SOS - Saving India's Wildlife |url=http://www.wildlifesos.org/ |website=Wildlife SOS}}</ref>
* Andean Bear Conservation Project, for the Andean bear<ref>{{cite web |title=Andean Bear Conservation Project |url=http://www.andeanbear.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218004303/http://www.andeanbear.org/ |archive-date=18 February 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}</ref>
* Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, for the giant panda<ref>{{cite web |title=Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding |url=http://www.panda.org.cn/english/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315221701/http://www.panda.org.cn/english/ |archive-date=15 March 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}</ref>

== See also ==

* {{Annotated link |List of fictional bears}}
* {{Annotated link |List of individual bears}}
* {{Annotated link |Ursid hybrid}}
* {{Annotated link |Subspecies of brown bear}}

==Notes==

{{notelist}}

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===

* {{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Paul |url={{GBurl|3dJ9QgAACAAJ}} |title=Wild Bears of the World |last2=Kynaston |first2=Suzanne |publisher=Facts on File |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8160-3245-7 |location=New York |oclc=443610490 |url-access=registration}}

==Further reading==

* {{Cite book |last=Brunner |first=Bernd |title=Bears: A Brief History |date=2007 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-12299-2 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Domico |first1=Terry |title=Bears of the World |last2=Newman |first2=Mark |publisher=Facts on File |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8160-1536-8 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite book |last=Faulkner |first=William |author-link=William Faulkner |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx0aGV2aXJ0dWFsZW5nbGlzaG5vdGVib29rfGd4OjFiYjYyNDA4NTQwZDkyMjc |title=The Bear |publisher=Curley Publishing |year=1990 |orig-year=1st pub. 1942 |isbn=978-0-7927-0537-6 |ref=none}}

==External links==

* [http://www.medvede.sk/index1.php The Bears Project – brown bears in Slovakia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140308192159/http://beartrust.org/the-bear-book-and-curriculum-guide-to-the-bear-book The Bear Book and Curriculum Guide – stories about all eight species of bears, with STEM lessons rooted in bear research, ecology, and conservation]

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