North American Black bear (Ursus americanus)
Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Asiatic black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus)
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
Sun bear (Ursus malayanus)
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Habitat:
Wide variety: tropics, ice, and forests
Found in:
Arctic Circle, Europe, Asia, North and South America
A large body, capable of standing up on their hind legs, broad paws, sharp claws, long snouts, and round ears.
Diet:
Omnivores, they eat lichens, roots, nuts, berries and fish. Polar Bears are carnivores and feed mainly on seals.
Gestation period:
3-7 months
Life expectancy:
25-30 years
Threats:
Climate change, habitat loss, hunted as prey by tigers (some species), hunted by humans poaching for Traditional Chinese Medicine, ornaments such as skins and for "sport".
Wild Population estimates:
North American Black bear - 400,000
Brown bear - 225,000
Polar bear - 25,000
Asiatic black bear - 16,000
Sloth bear - 15,000
Spectacled bear - 10,000
Sun bear - unknown
Giant panda - 700
CITES listing:
Apendix I: Giant panda, sun bear, sloth bear, spectacled bear, Himalayan brown bear, Asiatic black bear, brown bear (only the populations of Bhutan, China, Mexico and Mongolia). All other bears are Appendix II.
![Helarctos malayanus Sun bear Sub-adult in branches of rainforest tree Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Sabah, Malaysia. [image copyright WWF-Canon / Terry DOMICO]](/images/pageheaders/poster-keyspecies.jpg "Key species [image copyright WWF-Canon / Terry DOMICO]")
![Brown bear [image copyright Andy Fisher]](/images/animals/bear_andy.jpg "Brown bearo [image copyright Andy Fisher]")
![Two brown bear cubs being raised at the Pazhetnov Bear Sanctuary in Bubonitsy, Russia. [image copyright S. Widstrand, of IFAW ]](/images/animals/bear_ru125.jpg "Two brown bear cubs being raised at the Pazhetnov Bear Sanctuary in Bubonitsy, Russia. [image copyright S. Widstrand, of IFAW ]")
![A brown bear cub being raised at the Pazhetnov Bear Sanctuary in Bubonitsy, Russia. [image copyright Rosa Hill, of IFAW ]](/images/animals/bear_ru126.jpg "A brown bear cub being raised at the Pazhetnov Bear Sanctuary in Bubonitsy, Russia. [image copyright Rosa Hill, of IFAW ]")