Bears: Grizzly Bears

23. June 2008 admin

Once feared and often mythologized, Grizzly Bears are now the subject of intense study in the biological community. It is hoped that with an added understanding of their habitat, mating rituals, and diet, the population of the Grizzly Bear will return to its once robust presence in the forest ecosystem. Grizzly Bears once lived throughout North America, Europe and Asia, but sadly this is no longer the case.

A Greater Understanding of Grizzly Bears
Some researchers posit that the legend of Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, was based on unsettling encounters with the Grizzly Bear. Standing at eight to ten feet in height, and sometimes weighing as much as 1,200 pounds, it is understandable that early explorers and fur trappers would seek to demonize this bear as a monster. However, American Indians had great respect for the Grizzly, and certain tribes held that this Bear was in fact a central figure in the creation of the natural world.

Through the classification of skull size and shape, biologists now understand that Grizzly Bears are part of a larger sub-species known as Brown Bears, which also include the Kodiak and Admiralty Bears of the Pacific coast. The Grizzly, however, tends to live further inland, and is generally smaller than its cousins on the coast. While these larger bears tend to eat a diet that consists of fish, the Grizzly relies on foraging for plant matter as well as hunting the occasional medium or large size mammal.

Grizzlies live solitary lives when they are not mating or rearing their young. The Grizzly rarely shares its territory with other adults because they need to maintain a tremendous caloric intake to build layers of fat for hibernation. Grizzly populations therefore need huge areas of untouched forest to ensure sustainable levels. As these habitats continue to shrink, the numbers of adult Grizzlies living in the wild has diminished.

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Bears: Information On Panda Bears

22. June 2008 admin

It is exceedingly difficult to obtain information on Panda Bears in their natural habitat because their numbers are so scarce. Wild Panda Bears are quite rare, although they are often zoo celebrities. Biologists estimate that there are no more than 5,000 Giant Pandas living wild in their natural habitat.

An Introduction to Information on Panda BearsGiant Panda Bears are large, slow moving mammals with rounded ears and distinctive white and black markings that typically occur around the eyes. Although they are classified as omnivorous, they subsist almost entirely on a diet of Bamboo. Scientists who cultivate information on Panda Bears have shown that Pandas rely on special muscles around their jaw bones to facilitate the mastication of bamboo in enormous quantities. It is said the average Panda Bear can eat more than 20 pounds of bamboo each day.

An interesting piece information on Panda Bears is that they are one of the few species of Bear that show no tendency to hibernate. This is probably because there is no extreme temperature change in the areas the Panda Bears inhabit, and because Bamboo is available all year round. Additionally, Pandas have developed a taste for over 15 different varieties of Bamboo, meaning they are able to adapt to seasonal changes in the proliferation of individual bamboo species.

However, Panda Bears rely on a very specific habitat to sustain their populations, and in China this habitat is very much in danger. Increased industrialization and the conversion of outlying lands to farming use have meant that there is an ever dwindling acreage of wild bamboo available to the Pandas. While vigorous efforts at conservation have been launched, it is unlikely that the Giant Panda Bear will ever return to its once formidable presence in the Chinese countryside.

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Bears: Information On Polar Bears

21. June 2008 admin

Thanks to a fairly recent emphasis on the study of arctic climate change, there is considerably more information on Polar Bears now available. The Polar Bear is uniquely adapted to the harsh conditions of the Arctic, and therefore particularly vulnerable to long term warming trends. Some scientists have cited the Polar Bear as a bellwether for the plight of large mammals in changing ecosystems.

Increases in Information on Polar Bears
It is now known that there are only two groupings of Polar Bears currently residing in the Arctic. Both groups consist of individual adults that travel in huge circles that begin on the northern coast of Alaska, and meander out onto flowing chunks of pack ice. New information on Polar Bears has come by way of radio tracking collars, which reveal that the adult Polar Bear treks an average of 15 miles a day in search of food, and will range an average of 5,500 miles per year.

Biologists gathering information on Polar Bears have discovered a host of unique adaptations that Polar Bears have developed to survive in the Arctic. Polar Bear fur, for example, is made up of thin hollow tubes which act like a fiber optic wire, funneling precious sunlight directly to the surface of the Bears skin. Polar Bears have also developed webbed paws allowing them to achieve remarkable proficiency in open ocean. Polar Bears have been known to swim up to 100 miles from the nearest land form or pack ice.

However, the Polar region is a particularly fragile one, where even miniscule climactic fluctuations can have an enormous effect on the surrounding ecosystems. For example, were mean ocean temperatures to continue to rise, the formation of seasonal pack ice would greatly decrease or even cease entirely, denying Polar Bears access to their native hunting grounds. Greatly dependent on these temporary floating islands, the Polar Bear population would thus be relegated to an ever diminishing habitat.

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Bears: Koala Bear Facts

20. June 2008 admin

Foremost among Koala Bear facts is that Koalas do not belong to the Ursidae, or Bear, family. Rather, they are actually marsupials, classified as such because Koala females rear their young in a pouch-like enclosure beneath their chest. However, the overall appearance of the Koala shares many characteristics with actual bears, so the mistake is understandable.

Koala Bear Facts
The study of marsupials by biologists all over the world has revealed an assortment of surprising Koala Bear facts. For example, fossils discovered in Australia indicate that the Koala has been around for 25 to 40 million years. Inhabiting the Eucalyptus forests of Eastern and Southeastern Australia, Koala Bears were once large in number. However, the Koala population decreased sharply when it was discovered by Western fur traders.

There are currently an estimated 70,000 Koala Bears now living wild in Australia. Koala habitat is generally measured by the density of forest growth, and specifically by the preponderance of Eucalyptus trees within the forest. The average life span of a Koala in the wild is no more than 17 years. During their adult lives, Koala Bears are known to sleep an average of 16 hours a day in order to conserve energy. The rest of their time is largely devoted to feeding.

Koala Bear facts regarding breeding are common to most other marsupials. Koalas breed approximately once per year, typically in a season that lasts from March to September. Gestation lasts only 35 days, after which the baby koala, or Joey crawls into the mothers pouch and remains there for the next six months.

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Bears: Koala Bear Information

19. June 2008 admin

The increasing scarcity of the Koala has prompted biologists to redouble their efforts to add to the existing body of Koala Bear information. There is considerable debate among environmentalists and government officials as to whether the future of the Koala population is actually in danger, and as a result regulations designed to protect the Koala Bear are often loosely enforced. Nevertheless, the Koala population continues to suffer at the hands of hunters, fur trappers, and land developers.

Gathering Koala Bear Information
Animal nutritionists have contributed a fascinating piece of Koala Bear Information, namely that Koala Bears are one of only three species that can digest the poisonous toxins contained in the Eucalyptus leaf. For most of the history of the species, this was an enormous advantage, saving Koalas from competing for a common food source. However, as human activity encroached on eucalyptus forests throughout Australia, the Koalas dependence on only one plant species became something of an evolutionary millstone.

An occasionally overlooked piece of Koala Bear Information is that the Koala Bear comes by its name by mistake. Koalas rear their offspring in a pouch located at the front of their torso, so they are not Bears at all, but Marsupials. Like other Marsupials, Koalas are native to the Austral-Asian subcontinent, and are considered by evolutionary biologists to be the product of geographically isolated processes of evolution.

The 35 day gestation period of the Koala is comparably short. When they are born, baby Koala Bears are tiny, weighing less than one gram. However they then undergo a six month period of growth and development within their mothers pouch, feeding on milk that is extremely high in nutritional content. At the conclusion of this period, the young Koala leaves the pouch, and embarks immediately on a long career munching Eucalyptus leaves.

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