Bears are a carnivoran mammals. Although they are considered carnivores, they are omnivorous and some species eat only fruit and veg.
There are only 8 bear species alive today, but they are widespread. The eight species alive are the Brown Bear, American black bear, Polar bear, Sun bear, Asian black bear, Spectacled bear, Sloth bear, and the giant panda.
Brown Bear, also called the grizzly bear, is the most widespread of the bear species, most prominent in the U.S. and Russia. This is the inspiration for the classic teddy bear. These bears are famously seen catching salmon as they jump upstream.
The American black bear is the most widely distributed bear species in North America. They are omnivorous, with diets depending on location and the season. They are much smaller than their Grizzly counterparts. Fun fact: there is a genetic deformity making some black bears a dusty brown color! They are called “Cinnamon bears”.
Polar bears are the largest bear rivaled only by a subspecies of brown bear. It roams in the Arctic Circle. They spend most of their time in the sea and on the ice. They are mostly carnivorous and eat primarily ringed and bearded seals. There is some concern for these bears because of habitat loss.
Sun bears are found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They are famous for the funny-looking tongue, which is very long so the bear can easily stick it into bee hives and lick out the honey. They are the original honey-bears!
Asian black bears are also called “moon bears”. They are very fuzzy bears, largely adapted to arboreal life. (Living in trees). In the wild, they eat many fruits, and in captivity can often be seen eating jars of jam! They have very large round ears that look like Mickey Mouse.
The Spectacled bear, often called the Andean bear, is the last short-faced bear species alive. They are also the last remaining bear species in South America. They are technically the largest land carnivore in South America, except they are not carnivores! Andean bears are almost completely herbivorous.
Sloth bears are insect-eating bears native to India. The noise they make while eating can be heard 330 feet away! Bhalu from the Jungle Book was actually a sloth bear. They are particularly territorial and have been known to attack humans more than any other bear.
The Giant panda, or simply the panda, is recognized by black patches on its eyes ears, and across the body. They have a very distinctive diet of bamboo, but this diet is not very nutrient rich and means that pandas cannot digest meat products and can only have 1 cub at a time as they cannot produce enough milk on a bamboo strict diet.