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ENLARGE
Of all the animals, bears seem to have a universal appeal. I'm willing to bet that hardly a child grows up in America without having, at some point in their life, a Teddy Bear. I even know some grown people who still collect stuffed bears. The name “Teddy Bear” comes from Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was Teddy. The name originated from an incident on a bear-hunting trip.
Bears are quite adaptable to human environments. We encroach on their habitat and they mingle in ours. Recently in the news there was an article of how bears prefer breaking into vans in Yellowstone Park because they like the food our kids like — like cookies and Cheerios — and can open an unlocked car by working the handle. A friend of mine found a bear in her home outside of Edwards rummaging through her refrigerator. She managed to discourage its culinary tastings only to find it several days later in her yard when she was watering her plants — so she hosed the bear and apparently it didn't like being bathed in such a way and has not reappeared. Bears seem to have managed to clamber into our trash and extricate the garbage bags and sample the contents throughout the yard. Their carnivorous reputation notwithstanding, most bears have adopted a diet of more plant than animal matter and are completely opportunistic omnivores. One exception is the polar bear, which has adopted a diet mainly of marine mammals to survive in the Arctic. The other exception is the giant panda, which has adopted a diet mainly of bamboo. All bears will feed on any food source that becomes available, and the nature of that varies seasonally.
Except for a mother and cubs, bears are solitary animals and don't hang around much together. Liaisons between breeding bears are brief. Because they are solitary, bears have relatively few diseases. Many bears of northern regions are assumed to hibernate in the winter. While many bear species do go into a physiological state called hibernation or winter sleep, it is not true hibernation. In true hibernators, body temperatures drop to near ambient and heart rate slows drastically, but the animals periodically rouse themselves to urinate or defecate and to eat from stored food. The body temperature of bears, on the other hand, drops only a few degrees from normal, and heart rate slows only slightly. They normally do not wake during this “hibernation,” and therefore do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate the entire period. Higher body heat and being easily roused may be adaptations, because females give birth to their cubs during this winter sleep. It can therefore be considered a more efficient form of hibernation. The cubs of brown bears, usually born in litters of 1–3, will typically stay with the mother for two full seasons. They feed on their mother's milk through the duration of their relationship with their mother, although as the cubs continue to grow, nursing becomes less frequent and they learn to begin hunting with the mother. They will remain with the mother for approximately three years, until she enters the next cycle of estrus and drives the cubs off. Bears will reach sexual maturity in five to seven years.
Scientists predict that, if current warming trends continue in the Arctic, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by 2050. At the most recent meeting of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (held in Seattle in 2005), the world's leading polar bear scientists reported that of the 19 subpopulations of polar bears, five were declining. Elsewhere the bear population seems to be on the increase or stable. Many states have hunting seasons for bears and a maximum number that can be hunted. With proper management, wild bears and humans can live together. They are generally not aggressive, but it is best leave a wide berth and not corner them or leave food around to temp them.
Breckenridge resident Dr. Joanne Stolen is a former professor of microbiology from Rutgers now teaching classes at CMC. Her scientific interests are in emerging infectious diseases and environmental pollution.
Bears are quite adaptable to human environments. We encroach on their habitat and they mingle in ours. Recently in the news there was an article of how bears prefer breaking into vans in Yellowstone Park because they like the food our kids like — like cookies and Cheerios — and can open an unlocked car by working the handle. A friend of mine found a bear in her home outside of Edwards rummaging through her refrigerator. She managed to discourage its culinary tastings only to find it several days later in her yard when she was watering her plants — so she hosed the bear and apparently it didn't like being bathed in such a way and has not reappeared. Bears seem to have managed to clamber into our trash and extricate the garbage bags and sample the contents throughout the yard. Their carnivorous reputation notwithstanding, most bears have adopted a diet of more plant than animal matter and are completely opportunistic omnivores. One exception is the polar bear, which has adopted a diet mainly of marine mammals to survive in the Arctic. The other exception is the giant panda, which has adopted a diet mainly of bamboo. All bears will feed on any food source that becomes available, and the nature of that varies seasonally.
Except for a mother and cubs, bears are solitary animals and don't hang around much together. Liaisons between breeding bears are brief. Because they are solitary, bears have relatively few diseases. Many bears of northern regions are assumed to hibernate in the winter. While many bear species do go into a physiological state called hibernation or winter sleep, it is not true hibernation. In true hibernators, body temperatures drop to near ambient and heart rate slows drastically, but the animals periodically rouse themselves to urinate or defecate and to eat from stored food. The body temperature of bears, on the other hand, drops only a few degrees from normal, and heart rate slows only slightly. They normally do not wake during this “hibernation,” and therefore do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate the entire period. Higher body heat and being easily roused may be adaptations, because females give birth to their cubs during this winter sleep. It can therefore be considered a more efficient form of hibernation. The cubs of brown bears, usually born in litters of 1–3, will typically stay with the mother for two full seasons. They feed on their mother's milk through the duration of their relationship with their mother, although as the cubs continue to grow, nursing becomes less frequent and they learn to begin hunting with the mother. They will remain with the mother for approximately three years, until she enters the next cycle of estrus and drives the cubs off. Bears will reach sexual maturity in five to seven years.
Scientists predict that, if current warming trends continue in the Arctic, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by 2050. At the most recent meeting of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (held in Seattle in 2005), the world's leading polar bear scientists reported that of the 19 subpopulations of polar bears, five were declining. Elsewhere the bear population seems to be on the increase or stable. Many states have hunting seasons for bears and a maximum number that can be hunted. With proper management, wild bears and humans can live together. They are generally not aggressive, but it is best leave a wide berth and not corner them or leave food around to temp them.
Breckenridge resident Dr. Joanne Stolen is a former professor of microbiology from Rutgers now teaching classes at CMC. Her scientific interests are in emerging infectious diseases and environmental pollution.
