What family do bears belong to? An introduction to the classification of bears

Presumably many people have watched Boonie Bears, in which there are two bears: Briar is clever and resourceful, while Bramble is lazy and loves to eat. In reality, however, bears are not like this at all. So, what family do bears belong to?

1. What family do bears belong to?

Bears are members of the family Ursidae, which is a large family with 5 genera: Ailuropoda, Tremarctos, Ursus, Melursus, and Helarctos, and 8 species: the giant panda, the spectacled bear, the brown bear, the American black bear, the Asian black bear, the polar bear, the sloth bear, and the sun bear.

2. Where are bears distributed?

There are many kinds of bears, and their distributions differ.

1. Giant panda: distributed only in the temperate forests on the eastern edge of China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, mainly including the Qinling and Minshan areas of Shaanxi and Sichuan, inhabiting high mountain valleys in bamboo forests at 2400-3500 m. It is generally solitary and active day and night; its food is mainly 50 species of bamboo from high and subalpine areas, and it occasionally eats other plants, insects, and animal carcasses.

2. Spectacled bear: distributed only in South America, living in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, southwestern Argentina, and southern Panama in west-central South America. It is usually active at dawn and dusk or at night, and by day it hides in tree holes, rock caves, or among tree trunks to sleep soundly. It feeds on bromeliads and cacti, and also eats various berries, honey, plant roots and stems, bamboo, sugarcane, and more.

3. Brown bear: widely distributed in Eurasia and North America, mainly inhabiting forest areas such as coniferous forests or mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests in mountainous regions. It is mostly active during the day and usually moves alone. Its diet is omnivorous, including various roots and stems, tubers, grasses, grains, and fruits; it loves eating honey, and its animal foods include ants, ant eggs, insects, rodents, ungulates, fish, and carrion.

4. American black bear: widely distributed in North America, mainly inhabiting coniferous forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests, and woodland. It is solitary and omnivorous, with plant foods making up the main part of its diet; it eats fruits, seeds, fungi, nuts, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, pine nuts, acorns, and various berries, and also eats insects, fish, frogs, bird eggs, and small mammals. It likes digging up ant nests and raiding beehives.

5. Asian black bear: mainly distributed in India, Nepal, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Indochina, Afghanistan, Russia, and China, inhabiting humid jungle areas, especially mountain forests. It generally lives alone and is active at night. Its diet is omnivorous, feeding on plant leaves, buds, fruits, and seeds, and sometimes it also eats insects, bird eggs, and small mammals.

6. Polar bear: distributed in the Arctic and nearby countries, with its range mainly in sea areas with drifting ice near the Arctic Ocean. It is solitary and carnivorous, mainly preying on seals, especially ringed seals, as well as bearded seals, harp seals, and hooded seals. It also catches walruses, belugas, seabirds, fish, and small mammals, and sometimes scavenges carrion; in summer it also eats some berries or plant roots and stems.

7. Sloth bear: mainly distributed in India and Sri Lanka, with a small number also in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. It forages at night, and its main food is insects such as termites; it also eats leaves, flowers, and fruits, and will scavenge carrion. It is very fond of honey.

8. Sun bear: mainly distributed in Southeast Asia and South Asia, with a small number in Luchun, Yunnan, China, and Mangkang, Tibet, China, living in tropical and subtropical forests. It is solitary by nature, resting in trees during the day and active at night. It is omnivorous, eating leaves, fruits, honey, insects, and small animals.