The bear is perhaps one of the most famous representatives of predatory animals in the whole world. And all thanks to its size! A barrel-shaped body on massive legs with large claws, a huge head with a wide forehead and small eyes, large movable lips, coarse and shaggy hair … Here it is - the image of a powerful club-footed! In this article, we will learn how a bear prepares for winter, what it eats and how it builds its den.
Shaggy and heavy
Bears, without exaggeration, can be called shaggy heavyweights among terrestrial mammals covered with wool. For example, an adult Alaskan brown bear (photo below) reaches a height of 3 m with a weight of 700 kg! But this is not the limit. The largest polar bear in the world is the white polar bear. This animal exceeds 3 m in length, reaching a weight of 1 ton. Just think! That is how much old males weigh; middle-aged bears usually do not exceed 400-500 kg.
These predators are famous not only for their size, but also for their strong physical characteristics. A bear in nature has iron muscles, a thick layer of fat and warm coat. All this helps the predator survive the winter with its lingering frosts, for example, in the remote Siberian taiga. If we talk about polar bears, then these furry giants are able to swim in ice water for about a dozen kilometers without much effort, because they are wonderful divers. It is curious that during the throw into the water, the polar bear squeezes the nostrils and auricles, however, leaves its small and blind eyes open. But back to the brown clubfoot.
What do bears eat?
The hallmark of many bears is their behavior in the winter season, or rather the absence of this behavior. Yes, many of these predators in winter practically do not show any activity, since they fall into the so-called winter sleep. You are probably interested to know how the bear prepares for winter and what he eats. This will be discussed later. Now we should focus on the main menu of the owner of the Russian taiga. Despite the fact that all bears are representatives of predatory animals, they eat plant foods with great pleasure.
For example, brown bears love to feast on various cereals, nutritious plant rhizomes, nuts and berries. Probably every sane person knows that honey is the favorite food of a brown beast. And indeed it is! Wild bears are ready for hours to endure the bites of angry bees, if only to get to the coveted and delicious honey. These are the living conditions of these animals in the wild. However, even this does not allow us to call these predators vegetarians.
The fact is that clubfoot loves to catch fish from flowing forest streams. Zoologists describe this amazing sight: a bear stands on the shore for hours, peering into the expanse of water, and then suddenly it instantly and instantly launches its front paw with powerful long claws, catching a large fish from the river. Moreover, one bear paw blow costs the life of such animals as wolves and deer. These predators are worthless to fill up even an adult moose!
How does a bear get ready for winter? Winter sleep
Bears are mostly forest dwellers. One of their abilities is the ability to perfectly climb trees. Particularly famous for this are the heavyweights of the South American tropics - spectacle and Malay bears. But if these species of clubfoot only do what they climb, then our master of the Russian taiga has become famous throughout the world for his unusual behavior in the winter.
The fact is that brown bears basically do not show any activity in the cold season, because they fall into a deep sleep. Of course, many animals (hedgehogs, badgers, moles) are sleeping at this time, but all of them are small mammals, and try to look for another large predator that sleeps all winter long! This is the prerogative of only bears. So, let's find out how the bear prepares for winter.
Lair construction
In the northern regions of the globe, clubfoot heavyweights hibernate only after they have built a special shelter - a den. Brown bears build their shelter from massive branches and twigs, and white ones dig holes in large snowdrifts. Often brown bears take an example from their northern relatives, digging earthen holes for themselves in the steep sandy shores of forest streams.
Usually a bear's den is located in some secluded place, hidden from prying eyes. For example, brown bears can lie under the wells or eversion for the winter, under the roots of huge firs or cedars. If, before the onset of cold weather, the clubfoot did not find a secluded place for himself, he simply digs a hole in the ground, strengthening its walls with the help of vertically protruding branches.
The bear in the lair settles down very carefully. From the inside, the beast ennobles its home, lining it with improvised materials, for example, coniferous branches, moss, bunches of hay or dry grass dragged from the forest. By the way, an experienced hunter can easily detect a bear’s winter hut in the forest, paying attention to the surrounding tree creases with broken branches.
When do bears fall asleep?
Bears hibernate mainly from October to December. Accordingly, wintertime sleep for each clubfoot lasts differently: from two months to six months. Zoologists who have observed the behavior of these animals in nature, argue that in the warmer regions, given the abundant harvest of nuts, berries and other fruits, many heavyweights practically do not hibernate. In this case, a bear in autumn and winter plunges into a shallow sleep for only a few days and subject to adverse weather, which prevents it from walking in the surrounding forests. But we are interested in precisely those clubfoots who are long forgotten by their winter sleep.
How do bears sleep?
The bear lies in a den, curled up in a kalach posture: he tightly presses his hind legs to his belly, and covers his nose with his front paws. It is from here that the belief that clubfoot allegedly sucks a paw when they sleep. This is not entirely true. The fact is that a bear licks its front paws only in the most extreme cases, for example, when it suddenly feels in a dream that its subcutaneous fat is running out.
This is due to the fact that in the warm season various berries, insects and other “food” stick to the paws of these massive animals, which dries out over time. This allows them to slowly and slowly in a dream lick their own paw, looking for the aforementioned food in the wool. So it cannot be fully asserted that clubfoots only do that they suck their paw in the den.
Does a bear leave its den in winter?
Yes, but this does not always happen. The winter dream of a furry predator cannot be called strong, because when the thaw sets in, the beast may suddenly awaken. In this case, the bears come out of their den and knead the bones, walking through the forest. But as soon as it gets colder again, the clubfoot hurries back to the shelter, trying to cover up the traces of its presence on the street.
During this period, you can meet the so-called connecting rods. These are bears who, for one reason or another, due to malnutrition since the fall, have not been able to lie in the den. Not having accumulated a sufficient amount of subcutaneous fat, the animal begins to stagger through the winter forest, looking for food for itself. It is better not to meet such a beast, since it is very hungry and angry. Otherwise, the connecting rod bear may attack a person.
