Brown bears - a small closed group of a detachment of predatory mammals. They live in mountain forests and taiga. In addition to Russia, they are found in the Atlas Mountains (northern Africa), in Asia and Europe. To date, their number has decreased and totals 125-150 thousand individuals.
Adult animals weigh 75-100 kg. The length of their body is on average about 2 m, and about 1 m at the withers. Under good living conditions, the height can reach 140 cm with a length of up to 260 cm and a weight of about 800 kg. These are the gigantic sizes a brown bear can grow. The photo shows them well. The skin is of a different shade: from reddish to dark brown.
Unlike many predatory animals, brown bears feed on plant foods. They love roots, young shoots of plants, mushrooms, nuts, berries and can not eat meat for a long time. Although their main food is small rodents, a variety of insects and honey.
It is believed that polar and brown bears are awkward. This can be said only during the period when they are preparing for hibernation. The rest of the time they swim perfectly, overcoming a strong current, and the brown ones also cleverly climb along the slopes and trees. These predators are able to flee for a long time and quickly, chasing the victim. Bears do not take up strength, they can drag prey weighing 5 centners for several kilometers.
Brown bears have excellent hearing and sense of smell. But they do not see much, especially stationary objects. They live on average 30-40 years, they can live in captivity for up to 45. They live in certain areas, considering them their property and protecting them from the attacks of strangers.
Only hunger can make them leave their favorite place. In search of food, they can walk hundreds of kilometers, because by hibernation they need to accumulate up to 10 cm of the fat layer so that it is enough for the entire period of sleep. Hungry brown bears do not go to bed, becoming rods. In such a period, they are very dangerous, they can attack wild animals and even people, wandering into settlements.
For the den, brown bears look for dead places, carefully confusing their own tracks. The first days in the den, the bear is sensitively dozing, but not sleeping. Their winter sleep is shallow and different from the hibernation of other animals. During sleep, their body temperature drops slightly (only 3-4 degrees), and body weight decreases to about 40%. The duration of hibernation depends on the weather, age and health of the bear. As a rule, they wake up in April.
The cubs of the bears are born in the middle of winter, while the females do not wake up. Kids appear blind, naked, toothless, weighing no more than 0.5 kg. Feeding on mother’s fatty milk, they grow fast enough. By the time they leave the den, they weigh 6-7 kg and have time to grow wool.
The male, leaving the den, begins to actively search for food, gain weight. The Ursa Bear behaves in a very different way: she gives the food she finds to the kids, no matter how hungry she is. At the same time, she carefully monitors whether anything threatens her offspring. All summer, the mother wanders with cubs, teaching the necessary skills. By autumn, the young growth is good, but the cub does not leave the dipper. Next season, when the mother has new cubs, the older ones (called pestoons) will take care of them. Surprisingly, the family always moves in a certain order: in front of the mother, behind her are the babies, at the end are the cuddles.
Brown bears have been known to man since ancient times. However, there are a lot of unexplored issues related to their life. For example, why do some individuals set up their lairs somehow, while others carefully prepare it. Why do some go to bed in the place where they live, while others go hundreds of kilometers? Let's hope that the answers to these and other questions will be found, and the number of these animals will increase.
