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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:45:06 GMT -5
Continued... In Europe, there are 14,000 brown bears in 10 fragmented populations. They are extinct in the British Isles, extremely threatened in France and Spain and in trouble over most of Central Europe. Brown bears reach their western limits in Spain. In the Cantabrian Mountains of northwestern Spain, some 210 bears were found to dwell in Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and León, in the Picos de Europa and adjacent areas in 2013. , this population was estimated at around 250 individuals, but only due to it being a more extensive survey and their numbers may be declining rather than increasing. However, the population of brown bears in the Pyrenees Mountains, in a range shared between France, Spain and Andorra, is much lower, estimated at 14 to 25, with a shortage of breeding females. Their rarity in this area has led biologists to release bears, mostly females, from Slovenia in spring 2006 to reduce the imbalance and preserve the species' presence in the area. The bears were released despite protests from French farmers. By 2017, the bears in the Pyrenean region had increased to 39, including 10 cubs. A small population of brown bears (formerly assigned to the subspecies Ursus arctos marsicanus, which is now considered part of the nominate subspecies) still lives in central Italy (the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo and Latium), with no more than 70 individuals, protected by strong laws, but endangered by the human presence in the area. In eastern and northern Europe, the range of the brown bear currently extends more broadly. Among the most populous countries for brown bears in the eastern region are Romania, which has approximately 4,000–5,000 brown bears, Bulgaria with 900–1,200, Slovakia at about 600–800 bears, Slovenia at approximately 500–700 animals and Greece at about 450 animals in the south. The Carpathian brown bear population of Romania is the largest in Europe outside of Russia. Despite the relatively large size of the country's bear population, the species' numbers there were declining alarmingly due to overhunting before Romania's EU membership (which also depended on the protection of the brown bear in the country). Reported annual population growth rates were frequently greater than maximum published growth rates, which could lead to unsustainable hunting. In July 2017, the Romanian Ministry of Environment released an order for the hunting of 175 bears that year because of either the increasing bear population or changes in animal behavior because of destruction of habitat by deforestation, causing an increase in attacks on humans and damage caused by bears to local communities. There is also a smaller brown bear population in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine (estimated at about 200 in 2005), Slovakia and Poland (estimated at about 170 in 2009 in the latter country). The total Carpathian population is estimated at about 8,000. Northern Europe is home to a large brown bear population, with an estimated 2,500 (range 2,350–2,900) in Sweden, about 2,200 in Finland, about 700 in Estonia and 70 in Norway, totaling to nearly 5,000 individuals in the wild. Another large and relatively stable population of brown bears in Europe, consisting of 2,500–3,000 individuals, is the Dinaric-Pindos (Balkans) population, with contiguous distribution in northeast Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece.Bear Online Information System for Europe. Kora.ch. Retrieved 15 September 2011. Brown bears inhabited the mountains of Austria until as recently as 2011, after a reintroduction effort failed and the species became extinct again. There is currently no effort to reintroduce the species into Austria. The entire alpine population of brown bears includes about 50 individuals, most of them living in the Adamello Brenta nature park in Italy. Reintroduction of 10 Slovenian brown bears to the Trentino area in 1998 and 2002 produced occasional visitors to the South Tirol, the Swiss Eastern Alps, Bavaria and isolated sightings in the Central Alps. The small group of brown bears living in the Slovenian Alps is connected to the larger Dinaric-Pindos population.Verbreitung der Braunbären in Österreich und Europa 2014 (in German). WWF Österreich. Artenschutz. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:45:44 GMT -5
Continued... Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia In this part of the world, the brown bear occurs from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan southbound spottily through Turkey, northernmost Iraq, western and northern Iran, thence discontinuously in northeastern Kazakhstan, southeastern Uzbekistan and north to Kyrgyzstan. The populations in these countries are generally very small and fragmented, thus they are at high risk of genetic isolation and they occupy only small segments of their former range here. At least 20-30 were present in Central Alborz Protected Area in northern Iran .
South Asia In the Nepal Himalayas, the brown bear occurs in Manaslu Conservation Area. It possibly persists in northern Bhutan and northern Myanmar, but is not confirmed to be present in these nations today.
East Asia In Asia, brown bears are found in nearly every part of Russia, thence to the southeast in a small area of Northeast China, western China and parts of North Korea. Further west, they reach the southern limits of their worldwide distribution, dwelling spottily in northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and the northern areas of India particularly in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Three distinct lineages of the Hokkaido brown bear (formerly Ursus arctos yesoensis; now considered the same subspecies as the Ussuri brown bear (U. a. lasiotus)) can also be found on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Hokkaido has the largest number of non-Russian brown bears in eastern Asia with about 2,000–3,000 animals,Carnivores of the World by Dr. Luke Hunter. Princeton University Press (2011), although, in 2015, the Biodiversity Division of the Hokkaido government estimated the population as being as high as 10,600.Higuma Population Estimates pref.hokkaido.lg.jp (2 December 2015)
Africa north of the Sahara Desert Many people hold the belief that some brown bears may be present in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, but there have been none sighted since the 19th century. In addition to the native Atlas bear (U. a. crowtheri), the Romans apparently imported bears from Spain for spectacles with some escaping and founding a population in Africa, though it is doubtful that they still persist today.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:46:51 GMT -5
Continued... HABITAT Eurasian brown bears are often adapted to wooded and montane habitats
This species inhabits the broadest range of habitats of any living bear species. They seem to have no altitudinal preferences and have been recorded from sea level to an elevation of 5000 m (the latter in the Himalayas). In most of their range, brown bears generally seem to prefer semi-open country, with a scattering of vegetation that can allow them a resting spot during the day. However, they have been recorded as inhabiting every variety of northern temperate forest known to occur. North American brown bears, or grizzly bears, generally seem to prefer open or semi-open landscapes, with the species once having been common on the Great Plains and continue to occur in sizeable numbers in tundra and coastal estuaries and islands. Variable numbers still occur in prairie areas of the northern Rocky Mountains (mostly in Canada, but some in the contiguous United States). Where continuous and protected, such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the prairie is near-ideal interior habitat for the species. In western Eurasia, they inhabit mostly mountainous woodlands, in ranges such as the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Caucasus, though they may have been driven into more wooded, precipitous habitats due to the prior extensive persecution of the species in some regions. Desolate parts of northern and eastern Europe, like large patches of Scandinavia and the Carpathian Mountains, have always been quite heavily forested and have maintained relatively stable populations of brown bears, indicating that the bears here are well-adapted to forest-dwelling, although they generally seek foraging opportunities in forest openings such as bogs.Katajisto, J. (2006). Habitat use and population dynamics of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Scandinavia. University of Helsinki, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (November 2015). In general, enclosed forest is sub-standard foraging habitat for brown bears and so they occur irregularly in true taiga lands, despite the boreal forest falling at the middle of their circumpolar distribution. In Central Asia, human disturbances are minimal as this area has a harsher environment and is more sparsely populated. In this part of the world, bears may be found in steppe, which is sparser and more desert-like than grassland habitats in North America that occur at similar latitudes and some bears may live out their lives even in desert edge, such as those that live in the Middle East (Syrian brown bears) and the rare Gobi bear which is native only to the Chinese-Mongolian desert of its name and isolated from other populations. Alpine meadows are the typical habitat in the Himalayan brown and Tibetan blue subspecies of brown bear. In Siberia, the species seems well-adapted to living in almost all parts of the extensive pine forests, usually coming to waterways or poorly drained openings and bogs while feeding and sheltering in broad roots and trunks in the interior. Eastern Russian forests hold arguably the largest number of brown bears in the world, outside of possibly Alaska and northwestern Canada. The brown bears of Hokkaido are also largely forest-dwelling, but dwell in mixed forests dominated by broadleaf trees such as beech. It is thought the Eurasian brown bears which colonized America were tundra-adapted (as many grizzlies are today in North America) and the species is sometimes found around sub-Arctic ice fields. This is indicated by brown bears in the Chukotka Peninsula on the Asian side of the Bering Strait, which are the only Asian brown bears to live year-round in lowland tundra like their North American cousins. Genetics relay that two separate radiations led to today's North American brown bears, one a coastal form that led to the Kodiak bear (from U. a. beringianus or a common ancestor) and one an interior form that led to the grizzly bear (from U. a. lasiotus or a common ancestor). In Arctic areas, the potential habitat of the brown bear is increasing. The warming of that region has allowed the species to move farther north into what was once exclusively the domain of the polar bear (potentially another offshoot of a radiation of coastal brown bears). In non-Arctic areas, habitat loss is blamed as the leading cause of endangerment, followed by hunting.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:48:09 GMT -5
Continued... RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMANS Front paw imprint
Rear paw imprint
Conflicts between bears and humans Brown bears usually avoid areas where extensive development or urbanization has occurred, unlike the smaller, more inoffensive American black bear which can adapt to peri-urban regions. Under many circumstances, extensive human development may cause brown bears to alter their home ranges. High road densities (both paved and gravel roads) are often associated with higher mortality, habitat avoidance and lower bear density. However, brown bears can easily lose their natural cautiousness upon being attracted to human-created food sources, such as garbage dumps, litter bins and dumpsters. Brown bears may even venture into human dwellings or barns in search of food as humans encroach into bear habitats. In different parts of their distribution, brown bears sometimes kill and eat domesticated animals. The saying "A fed bear is a dead bear" has come into use to popularize the idea that allowing a bear to scavenge human garbage, such as trash cans and campers' backpacks, pet food, or other food sources that draw the bear into contact with humans, can result in the bear's death. Results of a 2016 study performed in a southeastern British Columbian valley indicate that areas where attractive bear food and concentrated human settlements overlap, human-bear conflict can create an ecological trap resulting in a lower apparent survival rate for brown bears, as well as attracting additional bears and thereby causing overall population declines. When brown bears come to associate human activity with a "food reward", they are likely to continue to become emboldened; the likelihood of human-bear encounters increases, as they may return to the same location despite relocation. Relocation of the bear has been used to separate the bear from the human environment, but it does not address the problem of the bear's newly-learned association of humans with food or the environmental situations which created the human-habituated bear. "Placing a bear in habitat used by other bears may lead to competition and social conflict, and result in the injury or death of the less dominant bear." Yellowstone National Park, a reserve located in the western United States, contains prime habitat for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and due to the enormous number of visitors, human-bear encounters are common. The scenic beauty of the area has led to an influx of people moving into the area. In addition, because there are so many bear relocations to the same remote areas of Yellowstone, and because male bears tend to dominate the center of the relocation zone, female bears tend to be pushed to the boundaries of the region and beyond. As a result, a large proportion of repeat offenders, bears that are killed for public safety, are females. This creates a further depressive effect on an already-endangered subspecies. The grizzly bear is officially described as "Threatened" in the U.S.. Although the problem is most significant with regard to grizzlies, these issues affect the other types of brown bears as well. In Europe, part of the problem lies with shepherds; over the past two centuries, many sheep and goat herders have gradually abandoned the more traditional practice of using dogs to guard flocks, which have concurrently grown larger. Typically, they allow the herds to graze freely over sizeable tracts of land. As brown bears reclaim parts of their range, they may eat livestock as sheep and goats are relatively easy for a bear to kill. In some cases, the shepherds shoot the bear, thinking their livelihood is under threat. Many are now better informed about the ample compensation available and will make a claim when they lose livestock to a bear. Another issue in several parts of their range in Europe is supplemental feeding stations where various kind of animal carrion is offered, which are set up mainly in Scandinavia and eastern Europe both to support the locally threatened species and so humans can enjoy watching bears that may otherwise prove evasive. Despite that most stations were cautiously set in remote areas far from human habitations, some brown bears in such areas have become conditioned to associate humans with food and become excessively bold "problem bears". Also, supplemental feeding appears to cause no decrease in livestock predation.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:49:00 GMT -5
Continued... Relationship with Native Americans Gorgonia, a Native American (Mescalero Apache) man. He holds a bear pelt and wears moccasin boots, a breechcloth, kilt, and vest.
Native American tribes sympatric with brown bears often view them with a mixture of awe and fear. North American brown bears have at times been so feared by the Natives that they were rarely hunted by them, especially when alone. At traditional grizzly hunts in some western tribes such as the Gwich’in, the expedition was conducted with the same preparation and ceremoniality as intertribal warfare and was never done except with a company of four to 10 warriors. The tribe members who dealt the killing blow were highly esteemed among their compatriots. Californian Natives actively avoided prime bear habitat and would not allow their young men to hunt alone for fear of bear attacks. During the Spanish colonial period, some tribes, instead of hunting grizzlies themselves, would seek aid from European colonists to deal with problem bears. Many authors in the American West wrote of Natives or voyageurs with lacerated faces and missing noses or eyes, due to attacks from grizzlies.Geist, Valerius (1989) "Did Large Predators keep Humans out of North America?", pp. 282–294 in Juliet Clutton-Brock (ed.) The Walking larder: patterns of domestication, pastoralism, and predation, Unwin Hyman, .Rockwell, D. (1991). Giving voice to bear: North American Indian rituals, myths, and images of the bear. Rowman & Littlefield. Many Native American tribes both respect and fear the brown bear.Folklore and Legends of the North American Indian compiled by Joshua B Lippincott, published by Abela Publishing Ltd., 2009, In Kwakiutl mythology, American black and brown bears became enemies when Grizzly Bear Woman killed Black Bear Woman for being lazy. Black Bear Woman's children, in turn, killed Grizzly Bear Woman's own cubs.Averkieva, Julia P. and Sherman, Mark A. (1992) Kwakiutl String Figures UBC Press, Sleeping Bear Dunes is named after a Native American legend, where a female bear and her cub swam across Lake Michigan. Exhausted from their journey, the bears rested on the shoreline and fell sound asleep. Over the years, the sand covered them up, creating a huge sand dune.
Bear encounters There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America.Herrero, Stephen (2002) Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, revised edition, Lyons Press, . In Scandinavia, there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which have resulted in death. The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity. Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack. Despite their boldness and potential for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea. The Alaska Science Center ranks the following as the most likely reasons for bear attacks:
Surprise Curiosity Invaded personal space (this includes a mother bear protecting her cubs) Predatory intent Hunting wounded Carcass defense Provoked charge. Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection variables. Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age.Why are grizzly bears more aggressive than our black bears?. Digital Collegian. 27 April 2004 Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being responsible for 70% of brown bear-caused human fatalities in North America.Rogers, Lynn L. How Dangerous are Black Bears. bear.org
Attacks on humans Drum or barrel trap used to safely relocate bears; currently parked adjacent to a building in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, United States
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:51:07 GMT -5
Continued... Brown bears seldom attack humans on sight and usually avoid people. In Russia, it is estimated that one in 1,000 on-foot encounters with brown bears results in an attack. They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they are surprised or feel threatened.Herrero, Stepehen (1985) Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance, Hurtig Publishers Ltd./ Edmonton Despite the low rate of attack, they appear to be the most dangerous northern carnivoran to humans, attacking more people on average annually than American black bears or northern populations of Asian black bears and Siberian tigers, cougars or gray wolves. Several large carnivorans from tropical regions of Africa and Asia may be more dangerous to humans than brown bears, including other ursids such as the sloth bear and Indian populations of the Asian black bear. Each of the latter species of bear may kill up to 12 people annually in certain Indian districts, about as many in a relatively small area as all of the world's brown bears combined. The high levels of human-directed aggression in these ursine bears is reportedly their evolution with once-large numbers of predatory Bengal tigers (arguably itself the world's most dangerous carnivoran to humans, even with its extreme decline in modern times, being statistically much more likely to attack than their northern Siberian cousins) and a very large human population, increasing the risk of surprising and angering a defensive Asian black or sloth bear, the latter species often charging aggressively rather than fleeing if a surprise encounter occurs, as do most other bear species. Sows with cubs account for many attacks on humans by brown bears in North America. Habituated or food-conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness and, in some cases, to associate humans with food. Small parties of one or two people are more often attacked by brown bears than large groups, with only one known case of an attack on a group of six or more. In that instance, it is thought that due to surprise, the grizzly bear may not have recognized the size of the group.Medred, Craig (26 July 2011) Alaska bear attack: NOLS kids did a 'phenomenal job', Alaska Dispatch In the majority of attacks resulting in injury, brown bears precede the attack with a growl or huffing sound. In contrast to injuries caused by American black bears, which are usually minor, brown bear attacks more often tend to result in serious injury and, in some cases, death. Brown bears seem to confront humans as they would when fighting other bears: they rise up on their hind legs, and attempt to "disarm" their victims by biting and holding on to the lower jaw to avoid being bitten in turn. Due to the bears' enormous physical strength, even a single bite or swipe can be deadly as in tigers, with some human victims having had their heads completely crushed by a bear bite.''The living animals of the world; a popular natural history with one thousand illustrations'' Volume 1: Mammals, by Cornish, C. J., 1858–1906; Selous, Frederick Courteney, 1851–1917; Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir, 1858–1927; Maxwell, Herbert, Sir, published by New York, Dodd, Mead and Company. Archive.org. Retrieved 15 September 2011. Most attacks occur in the months of July, August and September, the time when the number of outdoor recreationalists, such as hikers or hunters, is higher. People who assert their presence through noises tend to be less vulnerable, as they alert bears to their presence. In direct confrontations, people who run are statistically more likely to be attacked than those who stand their ground. Violent encounters with brown bears usually last only a few minutes, though they can be prolonged if the victims fight back. In Alberta, two common behaviors by human hunters, imitating the calls of deer to attract them and carrying ungulate carcasses, seem to court aggressive behavior and lead to a higher rate of attack from grizzly bears. Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare in the former Soviet Union, though exceptions exist in districts where they are not as often pursued by hunters. East Siberian brown bears, for example, tend to be much bolder toward humans than their shyer, more persecuted European counterparts. The delineation in Eurasia between areas where aggressiveness of brown bears tends to increase is the Ural Mountains, although the brown bears of eastern Europe are somewhat more aggressive than those of western Europe.Ustinov, S. K. (1972). Cannibalism and attacks on humans by brown bears in Eastern Siberia. In Proc. Conf. Bear Ecology, Morphology, Protection, and Utilization. Soviet Union Acad. Sci., Moscow, USSR (pp. 85–87). In 2008, a platinum mining compound in the Olyotorsky district of northern Kamchatka was besieged by a group of 30 bears, who killed two guards and prevented workers from leaving their homes.Bears besiege Russian mine after killing guards. The Times. 24 July 2008 10 people a year on average are killed by brown bears in Russia, more than all the other parts of the brown bear's international range combined, although Russia also holds more brown bears than all other parts of the world combined. In Scandinavia, only three fatal attacks were recorded in the 20th century. A statue of the Ussuri brown bear from Hokkaido which perpetrated the worst brown bear attack in Japanese history, killing seven people.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:51:49 GMT -5
Continued... In Japan, a large brown bear nicknamed "Kesagake" (袈裟懸け, "kesa-style slasher") made history for causing the worst brown bear attack in Japanese history at Tomamae, Hokkaidō during numerous encounters during December 1915. It killed seven people and wounded three others (with possibly another three previous fatalities to its credit) before being gunned down after a large-scale beast-hunt. Today, there is still a shrine at Rokusensawa (六線沢), where the event took place in memory of the victims of the incident. Within Yellowstone National Park, injuries caused by grizzly attacks in developed areas averaged approximately one per year during the 1930s through to the 1950s, though it increased to four per year during the 1960s. They then decreased to one injury every two years during the 1970s. Between 1980 and 2002, there have been only two human injuries caused by grizzly bears in a developed area. Although grizzly attacks were rare in the backcountry before 1970, the number of attacks increased to an average of approximately one per year during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.Bear Caused Human Injuries and Deaths In Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone-bearman.com (1 January 2000). Retrieved 2011-09-15. In Alberta, from 1960 to 1998, the number of attacks by grizzly bears ending in injury were nearly three times more common than attacks ending in injury by American black bears, despite the American black bear being an estimated 38 times more numerous in the province than the grizzly bear.
History of defense from bears A study by U.S. and Canadian researchers has found pepper spray to be more effective at stopping aggressive bear behavior than guns, working in 92% of studied incidents versus 67% for guns. Carrying pepper spray is highly recommended by many authorities when traveling in bear country; however, carrying two means of deterrent, one of which is a large caliber gun, is also advised. Solid shotgun slugs, or three buckshot rounds, or a pistol of .44 caliber or more is suggested if a heavy hunting rifle is not available. Guns remain a viable, last resort option to be used in defense of life from aggressive brown bears. Too often, people do not carry a proper caliber weapon to neutralize the bear. According to the Alaska Science Center, a 12-gauge shotgun with slugs has been the most effective weapon. There have been fewer injuries as a result of only carrying lethal loads in the shotgun, as opposed to deterrent rounds. State of Alaska Defense of Life or Property (DLP) laws require one to report the kill to the authorities and salvage the hide, skull and claws. A page at the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources website offers information about how to "select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)". Campers are often told to wear bright-colored red ribbons and bells and carry whistles to ward off bears. They are told to look for grizzly bear scat in camping areas and be careful to carry the bells and whistles in those areas. Grizzly bear scat is difficult to differentiate from American black bear scat, as diet is in a constant state of flux depending on the availability of seasonal food items. If a bear is killed near camp, the bear's carcass must be adequately disposed of, including entrails and blood, if possible. Failure to move the carcass has often resulted in it attracting other bears and further exacerbating a bad situation. Moving camps immediately is another recommended method.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:52:25 GMT -5
Continued... Culture "The Story of the Three Bears", illustration from Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories
Brown bears often figure into the literature of Europe and North America, in particular that which is written for children. "The Brown Bear of Norway" is a Scottish fairy tale telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a bear and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love and after many trials and difficulties. With "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", a story from England, the Three Bears are usually depicted as brown bears. In German-speaking countries, children are often told the fairytale of "Snow White and Rose Red"; the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown bear. In the United States, parents often read their preschool age children the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals. The Russian bear is a common national personification for Russia (as well as the former Soviet Union), despite the country having no appointed national animal. The brown bear is Finland's national animal. The grizzly bear is the state animal of Montana. The California golden bear is the state animal of California. Both animals are subspecies of the brown bear and the species was extirpated from the latter state. The coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit, whereas the Swiss city of Bern's coat of arms also depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly thought to derive from the German word for bear. The brown bear is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 kuna coin, minted since 1993. Berni is a brown bear mascot of the German football club Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has a brown bear mascot named Berni. The National Football League (NFL) franchise in Chicago, Illinois, is named the Bears. In this context, no differentiation between American black and brown bears is needed. The school mascot for Bob Jones University, Brown University, George Fox University, the University of Alberta, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Riverside, and numerous American high schools is the brown bear. In the town of Prats de Molló, in Vallespir, southern France, a "bear festival" (festa de l'ós) is celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, in which the locals dress up as bears, cover themselves with soot or coal and oil and "attack" the onlookers, attempting to get everyone dirty. The festival ends with the ball de l'os (bear dance).
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:53:04 GMT -5
Continued... BEHAVIOR AND LIFE HISTORY Like all bears, brown bears can stand on their hindlegs and walk for a few steps in this position, usually motivated to do so by curiosity, hunger or alarm
The brown bear is often described as nocturnal. However, it frequently seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours. Studies have shown that activity throughout the range can occur at nearly any time of night or day, with bears who dwell in areas with more extensive human contact being more likely to be fully nocturnal. Furthermore, yearling and newly independent bears are more likely to be active diurnally and many adult bears in low-disturbance areas are largely crepuscular. In summer through autumn, a brown bear can double its weight from the spring, gaining up to 180 kg of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not full hibernators and can be woken easily, both sexes like to den in a protected spot during the winter months. Hibernation dens may consist of any spot that provides cover from the elements and that can accommodate their bodies, such as a cave, crevice, cavernous tree roots, or hollow logs. Brown bears have one of the largest brains of any extant carnivoran relative to their body size and have been shown to engage in tool use (e.g., using a barnacle-covered rock to scratch its neck), which requires advanced cognitive abilities. This species is mostly solitary, although bears may gather in large numbers at major food sources (e.g., moth colonies, open garbage dumps or rivers holding spawning salmon) and form social hierarchies based on age and size. Adult male bears are particularly aggressive and are avoided by adolescent and subadult males, both at concentrated feeding opportunities and chance encounters. Female bears with cubs rival adult males in aggression and are much more intolerant of other bears than single females. Young adolescent males tend to be least aggressive and have been observed in nonantagonistic interactions with each other. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing off canines, muzzle twisting and neck stretching to which a subordinate will respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down.Stonorov, Derek and Stokes, Allen W. (1972) "Social Behavior of the Alaska Brown Bear" Panel 4: Bear Behaviour During combat, bears use their paws to strike their opponents in the chest or shoulders and bite the head or neck. In his Great Bear Almanac, Gary Brown lists 11 different sounds bears produce in nine different contexts. Sounds expressing anger or aggravation include growls, roars, woofs, champs and smacks, while sounds expressing nervousness or pain include woofs, grunts and bawls. Sows will bleat or hum when communicating with their cubs.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:53:42 GMT -5
Continued... Home ranges Brown bears usually occur over vast home ranges; however, they are not highly territorial. Several adult bears often roam freely over the same vicinity without issue, unless rights to a fertile female or food sources are being contested. Males always cover more area than females each year. Despite their lack of traditional territorial behavior, adult males can seem to have a "personal zone" in which other bears are not tolerated if they are seen.Pearson, A. M. (1975). The northern interior grizzly bear Ursus arctos L. Information Canada. Males always wander further than females, due to both increasing access to females and food sources, while females are advantaged by smaller territories in part since it decreases the likelihood of encounters with male bears who may endanger their cubs. In areas where food is abundant and concentrated, such as coastal Alaska, home ranges for females are up to 24 km2 and for males are up to 89 km2. Similarly, in British Columbia, bears of the two sexes travel relatively compact home ranges of 115 km2 and 318 km2. In Yellowstone National Park, home ranges for females are up to 281 km2 and up to 874 km2 for males. In Romania, the largest home range was recorded for adult males (3,143 km2, 1214 sq mi). In the central Arctic of Canada, where food sources are quite sparse, home ranges range up to 2434 km2 in females and 8171 km2 in males. A study of male-inherited Y chromosome DNA sequence found that brown bears, over the past few 10,000 years, have shown strong male-biased dispersal. That study found surprisingly similar Y chromosomes in brown bear populations as far apart as Norway and coastal Alaska, indicating extensive gene flow across Eurasia and North America. Notably, this contrasts with genetic signals from female-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), where brown bears of different geographic regions typically show strong differences in their mtDNA, a result of female philopatry.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:54:37 GMT -5
Continued... Reproduction Pair of mating brown bears at the Ähtäri Zoo in Ähtäri, Finland
The mating season is from mid-May to early July, shifting later the further north the bears are found. Being serially monogamous, brown bears remain with the same mate from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.Types of Bears – Information on Specific Bear Species (2009) Outside of this narrow time frame, adult male and female brown bears show no sexual interest in each other. Females mature sexually between the age of four and eight years of age, with an average age at sexual maturity of 5.2–5.5 years old, while males first mate about a year later on average, when they are large and strong enough to successfully compete with other males for mating rights. Males will try to mate with as many females as they can; usually a successful one mates with two females in a span of one to three weeks. The adult female brown bear is similarly promiscuous, mating with up to four, rarely even eight, males while in heat and potentially breeding with two males in a single day. Females come into oestrus on average every three to four years, with a full range of 2.4 to 5.7 years. The urine markings of a female in oestrus can attract several males via scent. Paternity DNA tests have shown that up to 29% of cubs in a litter will be from two to three different males. Dominant males may try to sequester a female for her entire oestrus period of approximately two weeks, but usually are unable to retain her for the entire time. Copulation is vigorous and prolonged and can last up to an hour, although the mean time is about 23–24 minutes. Grizzly bear cubs often imitate their mothers closely
Males take no part in raising their cubs – parenting is left entirely to the females.Corbet, G. B. (1966). Terrestrial mammals of Western Europe. G.T. Foulic & Co. Ltd., London, UK. Through the process of delayed implantation, a female's fertilized egg divides and floats freely in the uterus for six months. During winter dormancy, the fetus attaches to the uterine wall. The cubs are born eight weeks later while the mother sleeps. If the mother does not gain enough weight to survive through the winter, the embryo does not implant and is reabsorbed into the body. There have been cases of brown bears with as many as six cubs, although the average litter size is one to three, with more than four being considered uncommon. There are records of females sometimes adopting stray cubs or even trading or kidnapping cubs when they emerge from hibernation (a larger female may claim cubs away from a smaller one). Older and larger females within a population tend to give birth to larger litters The size of a litter also depends on factors such as geographic location and food supply. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless and hairless and may weigh from 350 to, again reportedly based on the age and condition of the mother.Couturier MA (1954). L’ours Brun, Ursus arctos. L. Couturier, Grenoble, France. They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer, depending on climate conditions. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to and have developed enough to follow her over long distances and begin to forage for solid food. Kodiak bear cubs play-fighting. The cubs are fully dependent on the mother and a close bond is formed. During the dependency stage, the cubs learn (rather than inherit as instincts from birth) survival techniques, such as which foods have the highest nutritional value and where to obtain them; how to hunt, fish and defend themselves; and where to den. Increased brain size in large carnivores has been positively linked to whether a given species is solitary, as is the brown bear, or raises their offspring communally, thus female brown bears have relatively large, well-developed brains, presumably key in teaching behavior. The cubs learn by following and imitating their mother's actions during the period they are with her. Cubs remain with their mother for an average of 2.5 years in North America, uncommonly being independent as early as 1.5 years of age or as late as 4.5 years of age. The stage at which independence is attained may generally be earlier in some parts of Eurasia, as the latest date which mother and cubs were together was 2.3 years, most families separated in under two years in a study from Hokkaido and in Sweden most cubs on their own were still yearlings. Brown bears practice infanticide, as an adult male bear may kill the cubs of a female bear. When an adult male brown bear kills a cub, it is usually because he is trying to bring the female into oestrus, as she will enter that state within two to four days after the death of her cubs. Cubs flee up a tree, if available, when they see a strange male bear and the mother often successfully defends them, even though the male may be twice as heavy as she, although females have been known to lose their lives in these confrontations.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:55:13 GMT -5
Continued...
Longevity and mortality The brown bear has a naturally long life. Wild females have been observed reproducing up to 28 years of age, which is the oldest known age for reproduction of any ursid in the wild. The peak reproductive age for females ranges from four to 20 years old. The lifespan of brown bears of both sexes within minimally hunted populations is estimated at an average of 25 years.McDonald, D., & Norris, S. (2001). The new encyclopedia of mammals. Oxford University Press. The oldest wild brown bear on record was nearly 37 years old. The oldest recorded female in captivity was nearly 40 years old, while males in captivity have been verified to live up to 47 years, with one captive male possibly attaining 50 years of age. While male bears potentially live longer in captivity, female grizzly bears have a greater annual survival rate than males within wild populations per a study done in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Annual mortality for bears of any age is estimated at around 10% in most protected areas; however, the average annual mortality rate rises to an estimated 38% in hunted populations. Around 13% to 44% of cubs die within their first year even in well-protected areas. Mortality rates of 75–100% among the cubs of any given year are not uncommon.Servheen, C. (1987). Grizzly bear compendium. Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. Beyond predation by large predators including wolves, Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and other brown bears, starvation and accidents also claim the lives of cubs. Studies have indicated that the most prevalent source of mortality for first-year cubs is malnutrition. By the second and third years of their lives, the annual mortality rate among cubs in the care of their mothers drops to 10-15%. Even in populations living in protected areas, humans are still the leading cause of mortality for brown bears. The largest amount of legalized brown bear hunting occurs in Canada, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Alaska. Hunting is unregulated in many areas within the range of the brown bear. Even where hunting is legally permitted, most biologists feel that the numbers hunted are excessive considering the low reproduction rate and sparse distribution of the species. Brown bears are also killed in collisions with automobiles, which is a significant cause of mortality in the United States and Europe.Servheen, C., Waller, J., & Kasworm, W. (1998). Fragmentation effects of high-speed highways on grizzly bear populations shared between the United States and Canada. International Conference on Wildlife Ecology and Transportation (ICOWET 1998).
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:57:02 GMT -5
Continued... ABSTRACT The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a bear that is found across much of northern Eurasia and North America.Servheen, C., Herrero, S., Peyton, B., Pelletier, K., Moll, K., & Moll, J. (Eds.). (1999). Bears: status survey and conservation action plan (Vol. 44) . Gland: IUCN. In North America, the populations of brown bears are often called grizzly bears. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which is much less variable in size and slightly larger on average.en, C., Darling, L. M., & Archibald, W. R. (1990). The status and conservation of the bears of the world (No. 2). International Association for Bear Research and Management. The brown bear's principal range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, and the Carpathian region, especially Romania, Anatolia and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries. While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total population of approximately 200,000. , this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN.Servheen, C., Darling, L. M., & Archibald, W. R. (1990). The status and conservation of the bears of the world (No. 2). International Association for Bear Research and Management. However, the California grizzly bear, Atlas bear and Mexican grizzly bear were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. One of the smaller-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear of central Italy is one of several currently isolated populations of the Eurasian brown bear, and believed to have a population of just 40 to 50 bears.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:57:50 GMT -5
Continued... EVOLUTION AND TAXONOMY The brown bear is sometimes referred to as the bruin, from Middle English. This name originated in the fable, History of Reynard the Fox, translated by William Caxton, from Middle Dutch bruun or bruyn, meaning brown (the color). In the mid-19th century United States, the brown bear was termed "Old Ephraim" and sometimes as "Moccasin Joe".Hunting the Grisly and other Sketches. FullTextArchive.com. Retrieved 15 September 2011. The scientific name of the brown bear, Ursus arctos, comes from the Latin "ursus", meaning "bear",Liddell, Henry George and Scott, Robert. "Ursus." A Latin Dictionary. Perseus Digital Library. and ἄρκτος "arktos", from the Greek word for bear.Liddell, Henry George and Scott, Robert."Arktos." A Greek-English Lexicon. Perseus Digital Library.
Generalized brown bear names and evolution Brown bears are thought to have evolved from Ursus etruscus in Asia. The brown bear, per Kurten (1976), has been stated as "clearly derived from the Asian population of Ursus savini about 800,000 years ago; spread into Europe, to the New World." A genetic analysis indicated that the brown bear lineage diverged from the cave bear species complex approximately 1.2–1.4 million years ago, but did not clarify if U. savini persisted as a paraspecies for the brown bear before perishing. The oldest fossils positively identified as from this species occur in China from about 0.5 million years ago. Brown bears entered Europe about 250,000 years ago and North Africa shortly after. Brown bear remains from the Pleistocene period are common in the British Isles, where it is thought they might have outcompeted cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). The species entered Alaska 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago. It is speculated that brown bears were unable to migrate south until the extinction of the much larger giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus). Several paleontologists suggest the possibility of two separate brown bear migrations: inland brown bears, also known as grizzlies, are thought to stem from narrow-skulled bears which migrated from northern Siberia to central Alaska and the rest of the continent, while Kodiak bears descend from broad-skulled bears from Kamchatka, which colonized the Alaskan peninsula. Brown bear fossils discovered in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky and Labrador show the species occurred farther east than indicated in historic records. In North America, two types of the subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis are generally recognized—the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly bear; these two types broadly define the range of sizes of all brown bear subspecies.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:58:42 GMT -5
Continued... Scientific brown bear taxonomy There are many methods used by scientists to define bear species and subspecies as no one method is always effective. Brown bear taxonomy and subspecies classification has been described as "formidable and confusing" with few authorities listing the same specific set of subspecies.Wilson, D. E. and S. Ruff. (1999). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Genetic testing is now perhaps the most important way to scientifically define brown bear relationships and names. Generally genetic testing uses the word clade rather than species because a genetic test alone cannot define a biological species. Most genetic studies report on how closely related the bears are (or their genetic distance). There are hundreds of obsolete brown bear subspecies, each with its own name, and this can become confusing; Hall (1981) lists 86 different types and even as many as 90 have been proposed. However, recent DNA analysis has identified as few as five main clades which contain all extant brown bears, while a 2017 phylogenetic study revealed nine clades, including one representing polar bears. , 15 extant or recently extinct subspecies were recognized by the general scientific community.Ursus arctos, ITIS As well as the exact number of overall brown bear subspecies, its precise relationship to the polar bear also remains in debate. The polar bear is a recent offshoot of the brown bear. The point at which the polar bear diverged from the brown bear is unclear, with estimations based on genetics and fossils ranging from 400,000 to 70,000 years ago, but most recent analysis has indicated that the polar bear split somewhere between 250,000 and 130,000 years ago. Under some definitions, the brown bear can be construed as the paraspecies for the polar bear. DNA analysis shows that, apart from recent human-caused population fragmentation, brown bears in North America are generally part of a single interconnected population system, with the exception of the population (or subspecies) in the Kodiak Archipelago, which has probably been isolated since the end of the last Ice Age. These data demonstrate that U. a. gyas, U. a. horribilis, U. a. sitkensis and U. a. stikeenensis are not distinct or cohesive groups, and would more accurately be described as ecotypes. For example, brown bears in any particular region of the Alaska coast are more closely related to adjacent grizzly bears than to distant populations of brown bears, the morphological distinction seemingly driven by brown bears having access to a rich salmon food source, while grizzly bears live at higher elevation, or further from the coast, where plant material is the base of the diet. The history of the bears of the Alexander Archipelago is unusual in that these island populations carry polar bear DNA, presumably originating from a population of polar bears that was left behind at the end of the Pleistocene, but have since been connected with adjacent mainland populations through movement of males, to the point where their nuclear genomes are now more than 90% of brown bear ancestry. The subspecies have been listed as follows:
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 1:59:47 GMT -5
Continued...
Palearctic realm (Eurasia and North Africa)
Subspecies name Image Distribution Description/comments Ursus arctos arctos – Eurasian brown bear Represents every population found in Europe as well as their range in western Russia and the Caucasus. May be found as far east in Russia as the Yenisei River in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to Novosibirsk Oblast in the south, where the subspecies intergrades into U. a. collaris.Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), V.G Heptner and N.P Naumov editors, Science Publishers, Inc. USA. 1998. A predominantly dark, richly brown colored (with rare light-colored individuals), moderately sized subspecies with dark claws, the Eurasian brown bears occurring in Russia are larger than their European counterparts, which may be in part because they are hunted less. Ursus arctos beringianus – Kamchatka brown bear (or Far Eastern brown bear) Found in the coastal lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk down as far as the Shantar Islands, Kolyma, all the land around the Shelikhov Gulf, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Paramushir Island. A very large bear with a broad muzzle. Overall has dark coloring, some animals appearing almost blackish-brown but will usually be paler at the top of the back. It may overlap with U. a. collaris extensively a few miles inland. It is thought to be the ancestor of the polar bear, the Kodiak bear, and the peninsular brown bears of Alaska. Middendorf described it from Greater Shantar Island with its distribution range comprising the eastern coast of Siberia and Japan. Ursus arctos collaris – East Siberian brown bear A majority of Siberia from the Yenisei River to as far south as the Altai Mountains in northern Mongolia, northernmost Xinjiang and northeastern Kazakhstan. Ranges as far north as the southwestern Taymyr Peninsula and the Anabar River. As the farthest east ranging of all Eurasian brown bear populations, it is found in Chukotka as far as the coast of the Bering Strait to the east and the coast of the Chukchi Sea in the north. Most bears of this type are fairly dark, but some are as pale as grizzly bears. It is intermediate in size between U. a. arctos and U. a. beringianus, with a proportionately larger skull than the nominate subspecies. In the sub-Arctic region of Yakutia, bears are reportedly quite small compared to other regions.
Ursus arctos crowtheri – †Atlas bear (extinct) Habitat, while still extant, was the Atlas Mountains and adjacent areas in North Africa, from Morocco to Libya. The last surviving Atlas bear is thought to have been killed by hunters in 1890.Bryden, H. A. (ed.) (1899). Great and small game of Africa Rowland Ward Ltd., London. Pp. 607–608.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 2:00:27 GMT -5
Continued... Ursus arctos isabellinus – Himalayan brown bear Northern Nepal, Northern and Northeastern India and Northern Pakistan, most continuous current range in Jammu and Kashmir. Quite distinctive physically, as it possess a reddish-brown or sandy-brown coat color with silver-tipped hairs and relatively large ears. This bear is smaller than most other brown bears found on the Asian continent. Prefers high altitude forests and alpine meadows. Critically Endangered. Ursus arctos pruinosus – Tibetan blue bear Tibetan Plateau; some of the bears found in the Himalayas are reportedly actually wandering individuals from the more robustly populated Tibetan subspecies. This is a moderately-sized subspecies with long, shaggy fur. Both dark- and light-colored variants are encountered, with intermediate colors predominating. The fur around the neck, chest and shoulders is yellowish-brown or whitish and frequently forms a collar which no other brown bear subspecies typically possesses in a mature state. Like the Himalayan brown bear, the ears are relatively prominent. The skull is distinguished by its relatively flattened choanae, an arch-like curve of the molar row and large teeth, probably in correlation to its particularly carnivorous habits. Ursus arctos lasiotus – Ussuri brown bear (or Amur brown bear, black grizzly or horse bear) Russia: the southern Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, the Maritime Territory and the Ussuri/Amur River region south of the Stanovoy Range, China (former Manchuria): Heilongjiang, Japan: Hokkaidō, Honshu (in the last glacial period), the Korean Peninsula: North Korea Became extinct on Rebun and Rishiri Islands in the 13th century.『野生動物調査痕跡学図鑑』 p.356 Ursus arctos lasiotus is quite variable in size. Skull dimensions from mainland Russia (i.e. the Primorsky and the Khabarovsk) indicate they can rival Kamchatka brown bears in size. By contrast, the population found in Hokkaido is one of the smallest northern forms of the brown bear. Nonetheless, individuals from Hokkaido can reportedly get larger than expected and have reached 400 to.Kamchatkan Bear. iza-yoi.net in weight by feeding on cultivations.体重400キロのヒグマ捕獲 なぜ巨大化? news24.jp (12 October 2015)体重400キロのヒグマ捕獲 なぜ巨大化?|日テレNEWS24. News24.jp (2015-10-12). Retrieved on 2016-12-12. This bear is thought to be the ancestor of U. a. horribilis. It is perhaps the darkest-colored population on average and some specimens are almost fully black in colour, although lighter brown and intermediate forms are known. Due to its coloring, this subspecies is sometimes informally referred to as the "black grizzly". Ursus arctos syriacus – Syrian brown bear Transcaucasia, Iraq, Turkey (Asia Minor), Iran, western Afghanistan, eastern Lebanon, Pakistan, western Himalayas and the Pamir-Alay and Tien Shan mountains. Despite a historical presence in Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic (the subspecies' namesake), it is believed to be extinct in these countries now. The Syrian brown bear is a moderate- to small-sized subspecies with light claws. This population tends to be a whitish-blond color with less noticeable black-based hairs than grizzly bears have. Ursus arctos priscus – Steppe brown bear (extinct) Unavailable Eurasia The steppe brown bear was a extinct prehistoric brown bear subspecies that lived in places like Slovakia.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 2:01:13 GMT -5
Continued... Nearctic realm (North America)
Subspecies name Image Distribution Description/comments Ursus arctos californicus – †California grizzly bear (extinct) California, mainly in the Sierra Nevadas and some areas of coastal California. The last known California grizzly bear was shot in California in 1922. Museum specimens illustrate that this population was golden-blonde overall typically without the contrasting black fur base of true grizzly bears. It also appeared to have been considerably larger, with a broader muzzle than true grizzly bears.
Ursus arctos dalli – Dall Island brown bear Dall Island, Alaska. Poorly described; possibly merely a coastal variation of other North American brown bears, but any such alliance is genetically ambiguous.
Ursus arctos gyas – Alaska Peninsula brown bear Coastal Alaska from the Aleutian Islands as far west as Unimak, the Alaska Peninsula to the Kenai Peninsula. Considered by some biologists to be the same subspecies as U. a. middendorffi.Burt. Henry W. (1952) A Field Guide to the Mammals. p. 42. Based on known size of adult males, if it is a true subspecies, it may match or exceed the Kodiak bear in size.Baryshnikov, G. F. (2007). Fauna of Russia and neighbouring countries. Mammals. Ursidae.Miller, S., & Sellers, R. A. (1992). Brown bear density on the Alaska Peninsula at Black Lake, Alaska. State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation.
Ursus arctos horribilis – Grizzly bear Most of Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, western Alberta, northern Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern Wyoming. The grizzly bear is identified by a medium to dark brown coat with gray or blond "grizzled" tips on the fur, which contrast with the black base. Highly variable in size, based largely on environmental conditions. It is also highly adaptable: it can live in montane pine forests, temperate rainforest, semi-arid scrubland, tundra and shortgrass prairie. Ursus arctos middendorffi – Kodiak bear Kodiak, Afognak and Shuyak Islands (Alaska), arguably includes other coastal Alaskan forms, which occur in most of the coasts of the western and southern parts of the state. This is the largest distinct subspecies of the brown bear, though the coastal-living members of other brown bear subspecies potentially rival it in size. It is medium-hued, typically not as dark as most forms from eastern Asia, but distinctly darker than grizzly bears.
Ursus arctos sitkensis – Sitka brown bear Admiralty Island, Baranof Island and Chichagof Island, the "ABC Islands" of Alaska. Appearing to be more closely related to the polar bear than to other brown bears, although it is on average the most dark-colored population in North America, with similar body size to grizzly bears from interior Alaska. This subspecies is called "clade II" by Waits and others and is part of the former subspecies identified as U. a. sitkensis by Hall and as U. a. dalli by Kurtén.
Ursus arctos stikeenensis – Stickeen brown bear Northwestern British Columbia from the Stikine River to the Skeena River.SPECIES VARIATION with literature reports for the Brown bear – Ursus arctos. twycrosszoo.org Variously recognised as a distinct subspecies or as belonging to the subspecies U. a. horribilis. Larger than most other grizzly bear populations, with males approaching the great bears of coastal Alaska in size.Lloyd, K. A. (1979). Aspects of the ecology of black and grizzly bears in coastal British Columbia. Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia.Bunnell, F. L., & Tait, D. E. N. (1981). "Population dynamics of bears—implications", pp. 75–98 in Dynamics of large mammal populations. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA. . Ursus arctos (Ungava population) – †Ungava brown bear (extinct) Northern Quebec and Labrador Historical reports of brown bears in Quebec were typically dismissed by modern biologists. In 1975, anthropologist Steven Cox discovered a brown bear skull in Labrador, confirming that the population did once exist.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 2:03:02 GMT -5
Continued... Hybrids
A grizzly–polar bear hybrid (known either as a pizzly bear or a grolar bear) is a rare ursid hybrid resulting from a crossbreeding of a brown bear and a polar bear. It has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian Arctic, and seven more hybrids have since been confirmed in the same region, all descended from a single female polar bear. Previously, the hybrid had been produced in zoos and was considered a "cryptid" (a hypothesized animal for which there is no scientific proof of existence in the wild). Analyses of the genomes of bears have shown that introgression between species was widespread during the evolution of the genus Ursus, including the introgression of polar bear DNA introduced to brown bears during the Pleistocene.
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Post by brobear on Mar 9, 2020 2:03:47 GMT -5
Continued... Formerly considered subspecies
Former subspecies name Image Distribution Description
Ursus arctos gobiensis – Gobi bear Gobi Desert An extremely rare bear found in the Gobi Desert, this bear is adapted to desert life, dwelling in oases and rocky outcrops. It is rather small and pale and it appears to lack the whitish collar characteristic of Tibetan blue bears. Phylogenetic analysis suggests they represent a relict population of the Himalayan brown bear. At one time, Gobi bears probably overlapped and possibly interbred with Tibetan blue bears in western China, but the bears are now extinct in this area.
Ursus arctos marsicanus – Marsican brown bear or Apennine brown bear Marsica, central Italy There are an estimated 40 to 50 bears remaining in the Marsican area. This is an unrecognized subspecies that is now considered to be a population of the nominate subspecies.
Ursus arctos nelsoni – †Mexican grizzly bear (extinct) The smallest North American brown bear, formerly from northern Mexico, including Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora and southwestern United States, including the southern regions of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas This bear is believed to have been hunted to extinction due to its interference with cattle ranching in both the United States and Mexico. Scarce by the 1930s, the last recorded sighting was in 1962. Distinct in its ability to survive arid conditions, it could live in both montane pine forests of Mexico and canyonlands adjacent to the Sonoran Desert.
Ursus arctos pyrenaicus – Cantabrian brown bear or Iberian brown bear, now considered to be the same subspecies as the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) See photographs in Eroski article (in [[Spanish language|Spanish], also available in Catalan, Basque and Galician)] and in Fauna Ibérica. Oso pardo ibérico (Ursus arctos pyrenaicus), in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] Iberian Peninsula, primarily the Cantabrian Mountains and hills in Galicia, and the Pyrenees. Rare, sporadic sightings in northern Portugal. Until recently, this bear was considered a separate subspecies. Today, it is considered to belong to the subspecies U. a. arctos. Scientific evidence based on DNA studies would furthermore indicate the Eurasian brown bear can be divided into two distinct lineages. "There is a clear division into two main mitochondrial lineages in modern Eurasian brown bear populations. These populations are divided into those carrying an eastern lineage (clade IIIa, Leonard et al. 2000), which is composed of Russian, northern Scandinavian and eastern European populations, and those carrying a western lineage (clade I, Leonard et al. 2000), which is composed of two subgroups, one believed to originate from the Iberian Peninsula, including southern Scandinavian bears and the Pyrenean populations; and the other from the Italian–Balkan peninsulas (Taberlet et al. 1994; see however Kohn et al. 1995). In addition, based on the subfossil record in northwestern Moldova and mitochondrial DNA data from modern populations, a Carpathian refuge has also been proposed (Sommer & Benecke 2005; Saarma et al. 2007)."
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