Bear - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Etymology 2 Evolution Toggle Evolution subsection 2.1 Fossil history 2.2 External phylogeny 2.3 Internal phylogeny 2.4 Taxonomy 3 Physical characteristics Toggle Physical characteristics subsection 3.1 Size 3.2 Morphology 4 Distribution and habitat 5 Behavior and ecology Toggle Behavior and ecology subsection 5.1 Feeding 5.2 Communication 5.3 Reproduction and development 5.4 Hibernation 5.5 Mortality 6 Relationship with humans Toggle Relationship with humans subsection 6.1 Conservation 6.2 Attacks 6.3 Entertainment, hunting, food and folk medicine 6.4 Cultural depictions 6.5 Organizations 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References Toggle References subsection 9.1 Sources 10 Further reading 11 External links Toggle the table of contents Bear 198 languages Адыгабзэ Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Pangcah Aragonés Ænglisc अंगिका العربية ܐܪܡܝܐ مصرى অসমীয়া Asturianu Atikamekw Авар Kotava Aymar aru Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Basa Bali Batak Toba Bikol Central Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български Bislama বাংলা བོད་ཡིག Brezhoneg Bosanski Batak Mandailing Буряад Català 閩東語 / Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄ Нохчийн Cebuano ᏣᎳᎩ Tsetsêhestâhese کوردی Corsu Qırımtatarca Čeština Чӑвашла Cymraeg Dansk Dagbanli Deutsch Zazaki Dolnoserbski Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Føroyskt Français Arpetan Nordfriisk Frysk Gaeilge 贛語 Gàidhlig Galego ગુજરાતી Wayuunaiki Hausa 客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî עברית हिन्दी Hrvatski Hornjoserbsce Kreyòl ayisyen Magyar Հայերեն Արեւմտահայերէն Interlingua Jaku Iban Bahasa Indonesia ГӀалгӀай Ido Íslenska Italiano ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ / inuktitut 日本語 La .lojban. Jawa ქართული Qaraqalpaqsha Taqbaylit Адыгэбзэ Kabɩyɛ Қазақша ಕನ್ನಡ 한국어 Перем коми کٲشُر Kurdî Коми Kernowek Кыргызча Latina Ladino Lëtzebuergesch Лакку Лезги Lingua Franca Nova Limburgs Ladin ລາວ Lietuvių Latviešu मैथिली Мокшень Malagasy Олык марий Māori Minangkabau Македонски മലയാളം Монгол ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ मराठी Кырык мары Bahasa Melayu မြန်မာဘာသာ Эрзянь مازِرونی Napulitano Nedersaksies नेपाली नेपाल भाषा Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Diné bizaad Occitan Oromoo Ирон ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Picard Polski پنجابی پښتو Português Runa Simi Română Armãneashti Русский Саха тыла ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ Sicilianu Scots سنڌي Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina ChiShona Soomaaliga Shqip Српски / srpski Seeltersk Sunda Svenska Kiswahili தமிழ் Tayal ತುಳು తెలుగు Тоҷикӣ ไทย Tagalog Toki pona Tok Pisin Türkçe Татарча / tatarça Тыва дыл Удмурт ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche Українська اردو Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Vèneto Tiếng Việt West-Vlams Winaray 吴语 Хальмг ייִדיש Vahcuengh 文言 閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gí 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read View source View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read View source View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikispecies Wikiquote Wikivoyage Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Family of carnivoran mammals For other uses, see Bear (disambiguation). Bears Temporal range: 38–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Eocene – Recent Brown bear (Ursus arctos) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Placentalia Order: Carnivora Suborder: Caniformia Clade: Canoidea Infraorder: Arctoidea Parvorder: Ursida Superfamily: Ursoidea Family: Ursidae G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817 Type genus Ursus Linnaeus, 1758 Subfamilies †Hemicyoninae †Ursavinae Ailuropodinae (pandas) Tremarctinae (short-faced bears) Ursinae (all other bear species) Ursidae distribution, including recently extinct populations as defined by IUCN Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae (/ˈɜːr.sɪ.diː, -.daɪ/). They are classified as caniforms within the suborder Caniformia. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, and Eurasia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda is mostly herbivorous, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varying diets. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal, and they have an excellent sense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period of hibernation, up to 100 days. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur. They have also been used for bear-baiting and other forms of entertainment, such as being made to dance. With their powerful physical presence, they play a prominent role in the arts, mythology, and other cultural aspects of various human societies. In modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian bile bear market. The IUCN lists six bear species as vulnerable or endangered, and even least concern species, such as the brown bear, are at risk of extirpation in certain countries. The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, but still ongoing. Etymology The English word "bear" comes from Old English bera and belongs to a family of names for the bear in Germanic languages, such as Swedish björn, also used as a first name. This form is conventionally said to be related to a Proto-Indo-European word for "brown", so that "bear" would mean "the brown one".[1][2] However, Ringe notes that while this etymology is semantically plausible, a word meaning "brown" of this form cannot be found in Proto-Indo-European. He suggests instead that "bear" is from the Proto-Indo-European word *ǵʰwḗr- ~ *ǵʰwér "wild animal".[3] This terminology for the animal originated as a taboo avoidance term: proto-Germanic tribes replaced their original word for bear—arkto—with this euphemistic expression out of fear that speaking the animal's true name might cause it to appear.[4][5] Bear taxon names such as Arctoidea and Helarctos come from the ancient Greek ἄρκτος (arktos), meaning bear,[6] as do the names "arctic" and "antarctic", via the name of the constellation Ursa Major, the "Great Bear", prominent in the northern sky.[7] Bear taxon names such as Ursidae and Ursus come from Latin Ursus/Ursa, he-bear/she-bear.[7] The female first name "Ursula", originally derived from a Christian saint's name, means "little she-bear" (diminutive of Latin ursa). In Switzerland, the male first name "Urs" is especially popular, while the name of the canton and city of Bern is by legend derived from Bär, German for bear. The Germanic name Bernard (including Bernhardt and similar forms) means "bear-brave", "bear-hardy", or "bold bear".[8][9] The Old English name Beowulf is a kenning, "bee-wolf", for bear, in turn meaning a brave warrior.[10] Evolution Fossil history Plithocyon armagnacensis skull, a member of the extinct subfamily Hemicyoninae from the Miocene The earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, including Parictis (late Eocene to early middle Miocene, 38–18 Mya) and the slightly younger Allocyon (early Oligocene, 34–30 Mya), both from North America. These animals looked very different from today's bears, being small and raccoon-like in overall appearance, with diets perhaps more similar to that of a badger.[11] It is unclear whether late-Eocene ursids were also present in Eurasia, although faunal exchange across the Bering land bridge may have been possible during a major sea level low stand as early as the late Eocene (about 37 Mya) and continuing into the early Oligocene.[12] European genera morphologically very similar to Allocyon, and to the much younger American Kolponomos (about 18 Mya),[13] are known from the Oligocene, including Amphicticeps and Amphicynodon.[12] There has been various morphological evidence linking amphicynodontines with pinnipeds, as both groups were semi-aquatic, otter-like mammals.[14][15][16] In addition to the support of the pinniped–amphicynodontine clade, other morphological and some molecular evidence supports bears being the closest living relatives to pinnipeds.[17][18][19][15][20][16] Life restoration of Arctotherium bonariense The raccoon-sized, dog-like Cephalogale is the oldest-known member of the subfamily Hemicyoninae, which first appeared during the middle Oligocene in Eurasia about 30 Mya.[12] The subfamily includes the younger genera Phoberocyon (20–15 Mya), and Plithocyon (15–7 Mya). A Cephalogale-like species gave rise to the genus Ursavus during the early Oligocene (30–28 Mya); this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears. Species of Ursavus subsequently entered North America, together with Amphicynodon and Cephalogale, during the early Miocene (21–18 Mya). Members of the living lineages of bears diverged from Ursavus between 15 and 20 Mya,[21][22] likely via the species Ursavus elmensis. Based on genetic and morphological data, the Ailuropodinae (pandas) were the first to diverge from other living bears about 19 Mya, although no fossils of this group have been found before about 11 Mya.[23][24] The New World short-faced bears (Tremarctinae) differentiated from Ursinae following a dispersal event into North America during the mid-Miocene (about 13 Mya).[23] They invaded South America (≈2.5 or 1.2 Ma) following formation of the Isthmus of Panama.[25] Their earliest fossil representative is Plionarctos in North America (c. 10–2 Ma). This genus is probably the direct ancestor to the North American short-faced bears (genus Arctodus), the South American short-faced bears (Arctotherium), and the spectacled bears, Tremarctos, represented by both an extinct North American species (T. floridanus), and the lone surviving representative of the Tremarctinae, the South American spectacled bear (T. ornatus).[12] Ursids did not diversify as much when colonising South America as they did when colonising the Holarctic, however.[26] Fossil of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), a relative of the brown bear and polar bear from the Pleistocene epoch in Europe The subfamily Ursinae experienced a dramatic proliferation of taxa about 5.3–4.5 Mya, coincident with major env…