Information about Bears.

Bear (bâr) noun

a. Any of the usually omnivorous mammals of the family 'Ursidae' that have a long shaggy coat a short stubby tail and walk plantigrade.

b. Any of various other animals, such as the koala, that resemble a true bear.

Bear,

A large mammal of the family 'Ursidae', found almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Bears have large heads, hefty bodies, short, powerful, clawed limbs, and coarse, thick fur; almost all are omnivorous. In cold climates, bears do not hibernate but sleep most of the winter; their metabolism remains normal, and they may wake and emerge during warm weather.

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Average Gestation Period

and life expectancy*

Animal	Gestation (days)	Average life (years)	Maximum life (yr-mo)
Black	219	18	36-10
Grizzly	225	25	50
Polar	240	20	38

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For a complete list of threatened and endangered species, write to;

Publications Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 113 WEBB, Washington, DC 20240.

Species

Endangered in

American

black bear,

Ursus

americanus

North

America

Brown bear

Ursus

arctos

horribilis

U.S. (48

states)

Ailuropoda

melanoleuca,

Panda.

China

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MN Black Bear Population Rises

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A growing web site about bears.

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North American Bear Center

Back to Who's Mathue.

Footnotes

* Information reviewed and updated as of mid-1994 by Ronald M. Nowak, ed. Walker's Mammals of the World (5th ed., Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991). Average longevity figures were supplied by Ronald T. Reuther. They refer to animals in captivity; the potential life span of animals is rarely attained in nature. Figures on gestation and incubation are averages based on estimates by leading authorities. The World Almanac® and Book of Facts The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. 4/8/05

WARNING ! ! ! ! !

Read below only if you have a strong stomach, this was posted to

alt.animals.bears on the 5th Nov 1996 (IT has been EDITED by me for space!)

Newsgroups: alt.animals.bears, talk.politics.animals, rec.animals.wildlife

From: bamford@netcom.com (Cliff Bamford) Subject: Please help stop grotesque cruelty to bears Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services

Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 21:13:22 GMT

Sender: bamford@netcom.netcom.com

Everyone,

Your help is needed. The following report was in the paper a couple of weeks ago. I contacted Judy Mills (quoted in article) to ask what could be done, and she said that the Korean authorities were sensitive to public opinion. She suggested that letters could be written to the following addresses to try and dissuade their people from partaking in these banquets.

Ministry of Health and Welfare

Kwacheon, Korea

Minsitry of Environment Global Environment Division

Kwacheon, Korea.

She said NOT to send a form letter as that irritates Korean officials. Please modify this as you feel is relevant. .

Yours sincerely,

Jane Carstens

Bears boiled alive for cruel Korean diners.

By ANDREW BOLT in Bangkok.

The Sunday Mail - October 20 1996

(Picture: Mutilated - This bear's paw was hacked off in front of diners.)

This is a mutilated survivor of the most horrific restaurant trade in the world - in which Korean tourists watch bears being cut up or cooked alive. One tour group in Thailand was fed a soup made of this bear's left rear paw, leaving the animal screaming in agony.

The traumatised bear was later dumped outside the Lop Buri military zoo, north of Bangkok. It now lives on scraps of fruit in a small concrete pen, charging any human who comes near with squeals of rage. "The restaurant trade in bears is the most horrible thing I've had to deal with," said Leonie Vejjajiva, an Englishwoman with Wild Animal Rescue Project funded by the Australian Embassy in Thailand and is home to 18 freed "restaurant bears".

What makes the trade so barbaric is that many diners want to see their bear killed in front of them, or cooked alive. A film shot in Cambodia shows a bear having its paws hacked off by a windmill of knives while howling in pain. Thai police have uncovered evidence of bears being muzzled to stifle their screams before being drowned in a dish of water in front of the diners.

"Another method is to tie them up and lower them into a pot of boiling water," Mrs Vejjajiva said. "some feel the fear and pain the bear goes through is supposed to make the meat better. It makes the adrenalin run and the gall bladder swell."

Bear gall bladders and bile are considered in traditional Chinese medicine to be a cure for cancers, cirrhosis and a wide range of other diseases. "The bear is like a walking drugstore," said Judy Mills, director of TRAFFIC East Asia, a Hong Kong group which monitors the trade in wildlife.

But she said the restaurants supplying Korean tourists were helping to decimate Asia's wild bear population, already threatened by the cruel trade in their gall bladders and bile. When Thai Police 'Anti-Deforestation Unit' tried to close down some Korean restaurants this year, it found around 350 bears, a troubling sign.

The crackdown followed the arrest of four Korean tourists at a routine road block just outside Bangkok in July. The REMAINS of five bears were found on their tour bus and two Thai organisers admitted to having another 40 bears hidden around Thailand. In a first for Thailand, the tourists were fined up to $1000 each and deported.

But while some nervous Thai restaurant owners are now killing or dumping their bears, conservationists warn the trade will simply shift to poorer countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia.