Bear Species and Trivia

Front

What is the largest species of bear?

Back

Polar Bears

Answer explanation

While evidence of larger, now-extinct bears has been found, the current largest bear on Earth is the Polar Bear. Full-grown polar bears weight between 900 and 1,500 pounds and can grow to between 6 and 10 feet long. A polar bear's coat is made of two layers: A short coat that provides insulation from weather and a longer coat the prevents water from touching the short coat and skin.

Front

Which country supports reserves for two-thirds of the world's wild pandas?

Back

China

Answer explanation

Expanding human population and industrialization have diminished the habitat of wild pandas, which is now limited to around 20 bamboo forests in six Chinese mountain ranges. Most pandas live in the Minshan and Qinling mountains, whose 67 panda reseves safeguard about two-thirds of all wild pandas and more than half of their exisiting habitat.

Front

Kodiak bears are only found in what U.S. state?

Back

Alaska

Answer explanation

Kodiak bears are only found on the Kodiak archipelago of Alaska. These brown bears are sometimes called "grizzlies" due to their physical cimilarities to grizzly bears, and while they are a subspecies, Kodiak Bears are larger than grizzly bears. There are roughly 3,500 Kodiak bears in the wild, and the species geogrpahically isolated itself around 12,000 years ago.

Front

Which fictional bear has his own ZIP code?

Back

Smokey Bear

Answer explanation

The U.S. Postal Service typically only hahds out unique ZIP codes when someone (such as a large corporation or university campus) gets a massive volume of mail. But back in the 1960s, Smokey Bear grew so popular and received so many letters than he was given his own ZIP Code: 20252

Front

Which of these bears hibernate? Sloth Bears, Sun Bears, Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears

Back

Grizzly Bears

Answer explanation

Although hibernation isstrongly associated with bears, many bears don't truly hibernate. Poalr bears hunt seals throughout the year and thus do not need to hibernate. Sun and Sloth Bears live in climates without seasonal chortages of food, so they don't hibernate. Generally speaking, brown bears, including Grizzly Bears, hibernate during the winter.

Front

Which term is used to refer to a group of bears?

Back

Sleuth

Answer explanation

A group of bears is called a "sleuth" or a "sloth." Both words originate from the word "slow". (In Old English, a "th" was added to an adjective to form a noun.) While bears are not known for moving particularly slowly, they words were inspired by the animals' annual nibernation and the fact that they are constantly looking for something, much like detectives, or sleuths.

Front

What is another name for Asiatic black bears?

Back

Moon Bears

Answer explanation

Due to the white or yellowish crescent moone-shaped markings on their chests, Asiatic black bears are also known as "moon bears". Moon bears have shaggy black fur, large elongated ears, and short but strong claws. Moon bears in Asia are frequently trapped because their bile is seen as a valuable part of some Asian medicines, so the need protection by conservationists.

Front

What is the smallest species of bear?

Back

Sun Bears

Answer explanation

Growing to around 5 feet and weighing around 150 pounds, sun bears of Southeast Asia are the smallest members of the bear family. Their size helps them maneuver in trees better than other bears, and while they are the smallest bears, they have extra-long, 10-inch tongues that are helpful for getting honey and insects out of trees.

Front

Giant Pandas have an extra bone where?

Back

Wrist

Answer explanation

Giant pandas have an abnormally large wrist bone, which people often mistake as a extra thumb. Scientists believe this sesamoid bone evolved to help maneuver bamboo stalks, but it isn't considered a true thumb because it can't be used to fully grasp things.

Front

Arctodus bears were also called what?

Back

Short-faced Bears

Answer explanation

Fossils show that the prehistoric arctodus bears could stand at almost 10 feel tall, so, ironically, they were also known as "short-faced bears." The bears were called "short-faced" because their snouts were disproportionately short compared to the rest of their bodies. When onall forund, bears measured about 6 fee from their feet to their shoulders.