Ursus arctos, Brown bear
What animal lives in the north and south hemispheres, is born blind, bald and toothless, can run and climb and swim, and has a great sense of smell? Don't have it yet? Well, it's kind of like a big hairy dog, and you may have a toy one on your bed. That's right! A bear.
Bears are one of our favorite animals. They remind of us of our pet dogs and many of us have seen them because they are often near where we like to hike and walk. Their fur appears to be loose and the way they walk it sometimes reminds us of someone just getting out of bed in the morning and shuffling around in their pajamas.
They do sleep a lot. In the winter they go into their cave or den and go into a deep sleep. You may sleep with a toy bear, but s bear would not make a good bed buddy in real life. When they wake up they are especially grouchy.
When they have babies, the mother takes care of her young for up to three years. Once they are old enough to leave the den, they follow her around and learn how to hunt and gather from watching her. Once they become adults, they live their lives alone, except when it’s time to mate.
We also think bears are funny because they eat just about anything, fruits, roots, berries, plants and meat when they can get it, so sometimes they dig through our trash cans for leftovers. But that's not good for them, of course.
Bears are really wild animals just like any other. The Grizzly, the biggest of all bears, live in Alaska and eat salmon and are particularly dangerous for people who do not respect them.
RISK: Grizzly bears once roamed from Mexico to Alaska, but now only live in limited areas of the far Northwest. Habitat destruction and over-hunting have endangered them.
