( Chorn and Hoffman, 1978 DeMaster and Stirling, 1981 Fitzgerald and Krausman, 2002 Lariviere, 2001 Nowak, 1991 Pasitchniak-Arts, 1993 Vaughan, et al., 2000)īears are large, robustly built animals. Ailuropoda melanoleuca, however, is found primarily in the montane bamboo forests of southern China. Most species are habitat generalists, changing preferred foods, activity patterns, and denning quarters with local conditions. Bears are most abundant and diverse in temperate and boreal regions. Although some bear species occur in arid areas, proximity to water is important. ( Nowak, 1991 Pasitchniak-Arts, 1993 Vaughan, et al., 2000)īears occur in nearly all terrestrial habitats throughout their range, from Arctic tundra and polar ice floes to tropical and temperate forests, mountains, grasslands, and deserts. For example, brown bear ( Ursus arctos) populations in the Atlas Mountains are thought to be extinct and their range has been significantly altered in North America and Europe. This range has been reduced in historical times as a result of human persecution and habitat destruction. ( Flynn, et al., 2005 Nowak, 1991 Vaughan, et al., 2000) Geographic Rangeīears are found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia, but are primarily found throughout the northern hemisphere, historically occurring as far south as the Atlas Mountains of northwestern Africa, the Andes of South America, and the Sunda shelf region. Although Ursidae is not diverse, species in this family are widespread and culturally significant to human populations throughout their range.

Bears are a small group of mostly large mammals, with 8 species in 5 genera ( Ursus, Tremarctos, Melursus, Helarctos, and Ailuropoda).

Are bears nocturnal or diurnal