Who is stronger grizzly or white. The grizzly is the most formidable animal. Northern giant - polar bear
Various types bears can be found not only in the forests of Russia, but in other parts of the world. Most of the species are sedentary life. Meeting with him one on one in the forest carries a huge threat to human life, but there are also quite peaceful specimens. Bears are the largest predators in the world, and which are the most big bears in the world learn from this article.
Here is a Kodiak - a subspecies of brown bears, which are considered the most big predators on the planet.
Dimensions and weight
Kodiaks are huge - their body length reaches 4 m, and their height is up to 1.5 m at the withers. The weight is amazing too. average weight males is about 450 kg, and females - 250 kg. However, occasionally there are specimens whose weight exceeds a whole ton! They live on the island of Kodiak, as well as on other islands of the Kodiak archipelago off the southern coast of Alaska. Their true habitat is where short winter and plenty of different foods. It cannot be said that outwardly this species is somehow different from other bears, since this is not so. Apart from the size, of course.
Where do they live and what do they eat
They live alone, during the cold months they fall into hibernation. They feed not only on other animals, but also on berries, roots, herbs and even carrion. Do not disdain and fish, especially during salmon spawning. Mating of a male with a female usually occurs in the summer, but the fertilized cell develops only in the fall. Cubs appear during hibernation in January or February - from one to three pieces. Young individuals remain with their mother until the age of three.
Unfortunately, Kodiaks are on the verge of extinction - today their number is no more than 3,000 individuals. However, 160 specimens of these huge animals are allowed to be shot per year.
In second place in terms of size is the grizzly bear. It belongs to the subspecies of the brown bear and lives mainly in Canada and Alaska, although some time ago it could be found even in Mexico. One of the main differences between a grizzly and other bears is the presence of huge claws, the length of which can reach 15 cm. That is why, by the way, the animal cannot climb trees.
If speak about external features grizzly, then with all his appearance he very much resembles the most ordinary brown bear, but noticeably larger than the latter, heavier and stronger. The length of some individuals reaches the mark of 4 meters, and the weight is slightly less than a ton! The color of the coat is dark brown, some parts of the body are covered with grayish fur, which makes the animal slightly grayish from a distance. By the way, grizzly is translated into Russian as "gray".
What do they eat
This species of bears usually feeds on plant foods, however, mainly in early age, since only then can a grizzly easily climb trees and ruin beehives in search of honey - huge claws grow much later. Having matured, it often eats animal food, including fish, which it knows how to catch excellently.
Where do they live
Today, grizzlies live mainly in national parks within the US. Despite the fact that the bear is under the oran, the American government allows the seasonal shooting of bears, since their population is very significant.
For humans, this beast is very dangerous, because with one blow of its paw it is capable of inflicting a mortal blow. Fortunately, such incidents in last years practically does not occur.
Interestingly, grizzlies can interbreed with polar bears, resulting in unusual hybrids - polar grizzlies.
We will also tell you about one interesting case that happened to a Forest Service employee in Alaska. He was hunting deer when he noticed a huge grizzly bear not far from him. The latter saw the hunter and rushed to him. But the guy was not taken aback and immediately began to shoot at the animal from his semi-automatic rifle. As a result, the bear fell just a few centimeters from the forester.
When scientists arrived to examine the animal, they were amazed at its size - its weight was 726 kilograms, and its length was just under 4 meters! Moreover, after they examined the contents of the bear's stomach, they found the remains of human bodies. It was a man-eating grizzly and in the last few days alone it had killed at least two people, the remains of one of which were later discovered in the same forest.
Third place - polar bear, which is often referred to as white, northern or sea, as well as oshkuy.
Dimensions and weight
This species originates from the brown bear. Scientists suggest that he appeared on Earth about 100 thousand years ago. The length of some specimens can reach 3 m, and weight - up to 800 kilograms. In fairness, it should be noted that such individuals are extremely rare in nature. Most often, much smaller representatives of this species come across on the way of researchers: average length the body of the male is about 2-2.5 m, and the weight is up to half a ton. Females are about one and a half times smaller.
Despite all the similarities with its progenitor, oshkuy has a flat head with small ears on an outstretched neck. The color of his coat can be both bright white and yellow - it often fades in the sun. At the same time, it is worth knowing that during ultraviolet shooting, the animal's coat seems dark - this is possible due to special structure hairs. But the bear's skin is completely black, although it is very difficult to notice.
Where does it live
You can meet the beast in the northern hemisphere. Its main food is marine animals, among which one can recall seals, walruses, sea hares and so on. Oshkuy catches them most often because of shelters, stunning them with a powerful blow to the head. However, it can hunt in other ways. Let's just say one thing - finding prey at -60 ° C is very difficult, however polar bear copes with this task with brilliance. True, not always.
In our country, this species of bears is listed in the Red Book, since it breeds slowly, and young animals very often die due to other predators. There are no more than seven thousand individuals on the territory of our country, about 200 animals are shot by poachers every year.
Polar bears are excellent swimmers. Scientists recorded a case when a female swam about 700 km in icy water. This record was officially registered, as there was evidence - a GPS beacon was attached to the animal's fur.
Grizzly is a subspecies of brown bear, reaching four meters in height and weighing about a ton, lives mainly in the Canadian forests, the Rocky Mountains and Alaska in North America. From afar, the bear seems gray, so the settlers, when they first saw it, gave the bear such a name, which means “gray” in English.
Previously, the animal's habitat, in addition to the indicated territories, covered northern Mexico and the state of Texas, but the advancing civilization pushed the beast far to the north and high into the mountains.
A distinctive feature of the grizzly is its long fifteen-centimeter claws, which are its formidable weapons. Due to the large length of the claws, the grizzly can only climb trees as a child.
This bear has a bad reputation as a bloody killer. However, the bear in its diet prefers young shoots of plants and nuts, berries and fruits, algae and roots. Sometimes this bear eats bird eggs, feasts on fish and honey, does not neglect reptiles, frogs, insects and their larvae, does not disdain even carrion, the smell of which is felt at a distance of almost 30 km.
Since the grizzly is a predator, large animals also take place in its diet, among which the old and sick, or inexperienced youth predominate.
Therefore, the bear is considered an omnivore and its teeth are adapted to a varied diet.
Among the North American Indians, it is considered a great honor to wear a necklace made from the teeth and claws of a grizzly bear.
An animal with great strength, striking with its paw and tenacious claws, can overwhelm a deer, and pursuing prey at a speed of about 60 km / h, it shows miracles of dexterity. In pursuit of a prey, a grizzly can swim across a river with little effort.
During salmon spawning, bears gather near the river, occupying a certain area, and start fishing, using all sorts of tricks: stick their heads into the water and grab the fish with their mouths or paws. Some individuals manage to catch a fish when it jumps out of a turbulent river.
Like a brown bear, grizzlies, having accumulated fat reserves over the summer and autumn, fall into hibernation. During the thaw, the grizzly leaves the den and begins to wander through the forest in search of food, and when the frost intensifies, it goes back to the den.
Grizzlies keep to themselves, avoiding company except during the mating season. After romantic meetings between a female and a male, after 250 days in January, naked, blind and toothless cubs weighing less than 700 grams are born in the den. The mother looks after her offspring for about two years. Therefore, with the onset of the next winter, the she-bear settles down for the winter together with the cubs that have grown up over the summer.
Little grizzly bears are easy to tame. They quickly get used to a person and even rush to his defense in case of danger.
AT vivo grizzlies are afraid of a person and try to go home.
Grizzlies can also attack a person, but this is extremely rare in cases where a person himself provokes a beast. If this bear is wounded, it will defend itself fiercely and become very dangerous.
Video: Grizzly bear hunting (lat. Ursus arctos horribilis)
Movie: Grizzly Cauldron - Yellowstone Battleground (2009)
Movie: wild america: Grizzly vs polar bear
This family does not have a large variety of species. Scientists identify only eight. But the number makes them very common. All of them have the right to claim to be included in the list called "The world's largest bear." This is due to the fact that they differ in incredibly large weight and growth. And yet, among the giants, one can also distinguish the most-most. For bears, this is Kodiak.
brown giant
These are rightfully the largest bears in terms of size and weight. Kodiaks are a subspecies of brown. Among all the predators of our planet, they are the largest. These bears grow up to four meters in length. Their height at the withers can reach one and a half meters. Kodiak is truly the world's largest bear.
If we talk about the weight of giants, then its average values are as follows: for females - two and a half centners, and for males - about five. These numbers are not the maximum. Recorded data that the weight of some individuals reaches one ton. After these figures, there is no doubt which bear is the largest in the world.
The name of this subspecies of bears corresponds to the habitat. Their distribution area is the Kodiak archipelago, located off the southern coast of Alaska. The climate in this area is characterized by short and mild winters. And natural enemies bears don't. This explains their huge size.
The diet of predators consists not only of animal meat. It also includes berries and herbs, roots and fish. It is known that they do not even disdain carrion.
Despite the fact that these bears have no enemies, their population is small. Today, there are about three thousand kodiaks in the world. Therefore, they are protected.
Northern giant - polar bear
Most often, when asked which bear is the largest in the world, they receive the following answer: “White”. It is also called polar, northern, sea, oshkuy. Its ancestor, like that of the Kodiak, is a brown bear. The maximum dimensions of this animal reach such values: length - three meters, weight - up to eight centners. However, smaller individuals are most common. Their length is less than a meter, and their weight is about five centners. Females are usually even smaller.
These brown bears are distinguished by the structure of the head. They have it flat on an outstretched neck. And the ears on the head are much smaller. Polar bears have black skin. It is imperceptible because of the incredibly thick fur. By the way, it can be yellow. Only most often the wool burns out under the rays of the scorching sun.
It got its polar name because of its limited range. This bear rarely visits the mainland. He spends almost his entire life in the Arctic.
The diet of this giant is limited to what can be found in the ice. And these are mainly marine animals, such as walrus and seal. His hunting style is to lie in wait for prey in hiding and hit them on the head. From this powerful crack, the animal is not able to quickly recover. In the conditions of constant winter, the polar bear needs a lot of food. Therefore, hunting methods may change. The main thing is to get meat or fish, because at a time he needs up to 20 kg of food. Although most often the portion is about 7 kg. You don't really have to choose. Can pick up carrion or eat chicks.
Due to the slow reproduction of offspring (one bear cub appears every three years) and the high mortality of young individuals, the northern bear is listed in the Red Book. Today its population is wild nature is about seven thousand.
Some interesting facts about the life of a polar bear
He is not only the largest bear in the world, but also the most dexterous, because he runs fast, swims excellently and dives remarkably. The polar bear can move in water for distances up to 80 km.
The animal is distinguished by very thick fur, which consists of two layers. The lower one, very short and incredibly thick, is designed to protect against the cold. The upper is long and waterproof so you can swim in and out of the water dry.
This type of bear is able to create a pair with a brown one.
Brown "American" - Grizzly
If he is not the largest bear in the world, then on the American continent - for sure. It is there that the area of \u200b\u200bthe existence of grizzlies spreads. Most often it can be found in Canada and Alaska. Although there are cases of its discovery in Mexico.
The grizzly is also a subspecies of the brown bear. But it is distinguished by very long claws, which can reach 15 cm. With such it will not be possible to climb trees. This is only available to babies until their claws have grown. These bears owe their name to their gray tint making the animal a little gray. Translated from English into Russian, the word "grizzly" means "gray".
The sizes of these giants are similar to those already listed earlier. They can grow up to 4 meters in length and weigh about a ton.
Grizzly babies eat mostly plant foods, while adult need a lot of meat. During the spawning period, animals do not mind fishing, they master this skill in childhood.
because of large sizes and of great strength, this bear is dangerous to humans, because one blow with its paw can be fatal.
Territories national parks The US is inhabited by grizzlies, which are protected. Like other species, they are practically not allowed to be shot.
A little about other types of bears
Brown
Since all of the above species are its subspecies, we can say that it is the largest bear in the world. The body length of the animal is about 2.5-3 meters, and it weighs about 7 centners. But such indicators are characteristic, rather, of the inhabitants Far East and Kamchatka. Bears in the European part of Russia most often do not grow large. Their weight fluctuates within two centners. The variability in the coat color of these animals is interesting. It can be from light fawn to almost black.
Himalayan
This is not the largest bear in the world, but definitely the most slender. Its difference is that it has an almost black color with a white tick on the chest. Because of this feature, it is also sometimes called white-breasted.
baribal
It is distinguished by a sharper muzzle and long hind legs. Its coat is significantly shorter than that of other representatives of the bear species.
Spectacled
This bear is the only one of its relatives that has chosen the expanses South America, and there he prefers the mountains.
The bear is one of the animals that you hardly want to meet one on one. Its dimensions inspire genuine fear. Surprisingly, at birth, some bears weigh less than 200 grams, and here the question of how much an adult bear weighs involuntarily arises. It all depends on its type and individual characteristics. The most famous are bears: brown, black, white. Since our country is inhabited Brown bear, let us dwell on it in more detail.
Distribution area
Previously, the brown bear was found almost throughout Europe, including Ireland and England. The southern boundary of the range was the African Atlas Mountains, and in the east, bears were found even in the territory modern Japan. It most likely came to the territory of North America after about 40 thousand years ago. Then he settled in the territories from Alaska to the northern borders of Mexico. To date, the brown bear is widely distributed in Finland (in this country it was even declared a national animal) and Scandinavia, it is less common in the center of Europe and the Carpathians. In addition, it also lives in the Iranian and Iraqi forests, northern China, Palestine, the Korean Peninsula and Japanese island Hokkaido. In North America, the brown bear is called "grizzly", more common in western Canada, in Alaska. In Russia, the brown bear lives in almost all the forests of the country, except for the southern regions.
Appearance
The animal is strong, with a distinct withers on the back. The body cover is thick. Coat color is uniform. As a rule, bears molt in spring, and the fur coat is updated in autumn. the ears are small, the eyes are set deep. The tail is practically invisible under the coat and is only 2 cm long. The paws are quite strong, with curved claws (their length can reach 10 cm).
Weight of a brown bear and its dimensions
The average body length of a brown bear is 1-2 meters. recorded in Kamchatka, the Far East and Alaska. These are real giants: their height in a standing position reaches three meters. In addition to height, many are interested in how much a bear weighs. Body weight depends on the sex and age of the animal. As a rule, the male is larger than the female. The weight of an adult bear (male) is 140-400 kg. But among them there are giant individuals weighing up to 600 kg. The female weighs on average 90-210 kg. A bear with a record body weight was found on Kodiak Island. His weight was 1134 kg, and his height was about 4 meters. Many people wonder how much a person living in Russia weighs? In our country, there are smaller individuals, their average body weight is 100 kg. And how much does a grizzly weigh - a bear living in America? The grizzly is a subspecies of the brown bear, its body weight can reach 500 kg. Individual individuals can weigh 700 kg.
Lifespan
How much does a bear weigh and how long does it live - these are probably the most frequently asked questions. Note that the animal directly depends on its habitat. In the wild, he can live 20-35 years. If an animal is kept in a zoo or reserve, then it lives twice as long - about 50 years, or even more. Sexual maturity occurs at 6-11 years of age.
Behavior
The brown bear has a highly developed sense of smell. He smells meat well even at a great distance. The bear has excellent hearing. It often stands on its hind legs to catch the direction of scent flows or to listen to the sound that interests it. In the forest, he behaves like a real master: he walks around his possessions in the early morning or after dusk. AT bad weather can spend hours wandering through the forests in search of food.
Lifestyle and nutritional habits
The brown bear is considered a forest animal. In Russia, his favorite places are dense woodlands with bushes and deciduous trees. It can enter the territory of the tundra and alpine forests. In Europe, it lives more often in the mountains, and in North America, its favorite habitats are alpine meadows, tundra and the coast. The male usually lives alone, and the female with cubs. Each individual occupies a certain territory from 70 to 400 km, while the male requires 7 times more area than the female. Of course, this does not depend on how much the bear weighs. It's just that the female often lives with cubs, and it is more difficult for her to travel long distances than a single male. Bears mark the boundaries of their territory with urine and scratches on trees.
Animals are omnivores. The diet for 75% consists of plant foods - these are berries, tubers, grass stems, nuts, roots and acorns. In lean years, they can feed on corn and oat fields. The diet of a clubfoot can consist of ants, worms, small rodents (mice, chipmunks, ground squirrels). Although the bear is not a 100% predator, it can overwhelm an elk or a roe deer. It is not uncommon for grizzlies to attack wolves, and in the Far East, bears sometimes hunt tigers as well. The favorite delicacy of this animal is honey (that's why it was called that). The fish is a seasonal object of hunting. At the beginning of spawning, when there are still few fish, the bear eats the entire carcass, but when there is a lot of it, it eats only parts rich in fat (head, milt and caviar). In famine years, the bear can hunt domestic animals and often visit apiaries, ruining them.
The activity of the brown bear falls on the morning and evening hours. Lifestyle is seasonal. By cold weather, the bear builds up a subcutaneous layer of fat and lies in a den for hibernation. At the same time, the average weight of the bear increases by 20%. A den is a dry place under windbreaks or uprooted tree roots. On average, winter sleep lasts about 70-190 days and depends on the climate (October-March, November-April). It turns out that the clubfoot is in hibernation for about six months. She-bears are the longest in hibernation, and older males are the least. It is also interesting to know how much a brown bear weighs after winter sleep. During this time, they can lose about 80 kg of mass. If during the summer and autumn the bear did not have time to accumulate a sufficient amount of fat, in the winter he wakes up and begins to wander through the forest in search of food. Such bears are called connecting rods. Rods are dangerous and hungry, so they attack everyone, even humans. Most often, they rarely survive until the end of winter: they die from frost, severe hunger, or from a hunter's bullet.
Despite the fact that the weight of the brown bear is impressive, and he looks somewhat awkward, he runs quite fast, swims well and climbs trees well. The paw strike is so powerful that it can break the back of a large bison or bull.
reproduction
The female brings offspring once every 2-4 years. Heat is passed at the end of spring - the beginning of summer, the duration is only 2-4 weeks. Males during the breeding season often fight among themselves, sometimes with fatal. occurs with several males, the course of pregnancy is latent, while the development of the embryo will begin only in November. Pregnancy lasts from 6 to 8 months, the birth itself takes place at the place of hibernation - in the lair. In one offspring there are up to 5 cubs. I wonder how much a bear weighs at birth, if it later reaches such sizes? Bear cubs weigh 340-680 grams at birth, their length is 25 cm. They are born completely blind and deaf, hairline is almost absent. Hearing appears only 14 days after birth, and they become sighted in a month. By 3 months they have milk teeth and can eat berries. A mother bear feeds her cubs with milk for up to 30 months. As a rule, the father does not take part in the upbringing of the offspring, on the contrary, he can eat the bear cub, because he sees in him a potential rival. Bear cubs begin to live independently without a mother by about 3-4 years.
Security
The brown bear is listed in the Red Book. This animal is vulnerable due to the high mortality of young animals and slow reproduction. But in recent times the population is growing. According to some data, there are about 200 thousand individuals in the world, 120,000 of which live in Russia, 14,000 in Europe, 32,500 in the USA ( most of in Alaska), 21,500 in Canada. Bear hunting in many countries is limited or completely prohibited.