Here are the 10 largest bears in the world with size and weight. The largest breeds of bears living around the world.
10. Sponge bear
Weight - up to 140 kg, body length - up to 180 cm.
Despite its small size, in comparison with the other largest bears in the world, a sponge bear can be very dangerous.
It was such a beast that for a long time terrorized the vicinity of Bangalore, killing and mutilating people. He was one of the most feared cannibals in history.
9. Spectacled Bear
Weight - up to 140 kg, length - up to 2 meters.
This “intelligent bear” got its name because the rings around the eyes look like glasses.
Although this animal is considered predatory, meat makes up about 5 percent of its diet. The rest falls on herbal shoots, rhizomes and fruits. Spectacled bears also enjoy eating termites and ants. Fortunately, their long tongue easily penetrates into the ant dwelling.
8. The big panda
Weight - up to 160 kg, length - up to 1.8 meters.
One of the cutest animals in the world also belongs to the bear family. But, unlike other bears, the panda prefers a vegetarian menu, 99% of which is bamboo. However, on occasion, the panda does not disdain a small animal, bird egg or insects.
For a long time, scientists argued to which family the panda belongs to - bear or raccoon. However, at the end of the 19th century, bearish supporters defeated. They studied the skin of a panda and decided that this cute black and white puffy was almost the ancestor of today's bears. And genetic tests have confirmed that the panda is not a giant raccoon at all, but a real bear, the closest relative of the eyeglass bear.
7. Himalayan bear
Weight - up to 200 kg, length - up to 1.7 meters.
This is one of the most beautiful bears, with luxurious shiny black fur and a white or golden “shirt front”. In shape, it looks like a crescent, because of this Himalayan bear is also called the "moon".
When meeting a person, the Himalayan bear behaves very aggressively. However, people are the worst threat to them. The fact is that in many Asian countries the bile of the Himalayan bear is used as a remedy for impotence and many other diseases. Therefore, dozens of animals are kept in tight cages and bile is pumped out of their gallbladders using special tubes. This procedure is extremely painful, and, one might say, flayer.
6. Kermodsky bear
Weight - up to 300 kg, length - up to 1.8 meters.
This big man lives only in the forests of western Canada. Although it is a subspecies of the black bear, the kermod's skin color is either off-white or cream with an amber tint. This camouflage color helps the beast when catching salmon on the river.
This bear got its name in honor of the researcher Francis Kermode, who described it. And the local Indians call him the "ghost bear."
5. The black bear
Weight - up to 380 kg, length - up to 2 meters.
The diet of the baribal black bear consists mainly of plant foods (raspberries, wild grapes, blackberries, acorns, etc.).
You don’t particularly rely on such food, so the cunning bears have adapted: they rummage through garbage cans and look for scraps there. Some black bears can even open cans with a screw cap.
Black bears usually do not attack people, but they can do livestock (sheep, goats).
4. Brown bear
Weight - up to 410 kg, length - up to 2, 4 meters.
Brown bears are very unusual animals. They can stand on two legs, pick up things with their “fingers” and often eat what we eat. This - combined with their ability to communicate with each other through scratches left on the trees, smells and sounds - lends a resemblance to our own way of life.
Brown bears can be found in Western and Central Europe, in Scandinavia, Finland and the Carpathians. In Russia, brown bears live in almost the entire forest zone with the exception of the southern regions.
This bear was a source of inspiration for the names of the two constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
3. Grizzly Bear
Weight - up to 726 kg, length - up to 4 meters.
Grizzly bears, scientifically called Ursus arctos horribilis (terrible brown bear), have a rather prominent hump in the shoulder blades and long claws (up to 80 mm). Both the hump and claws are characteristics associated with the fact that a grizzly bear can dig well.
Grizzly bears are omnivorous, and their diet can vary widely. They feed on seeds, berries, roots, herbs, mushrooms, fish, deer, moose, dead animals and insects. Grizzlies often attack people who were so careless that they got too close to the bear. In 1998, a huge cannibal bear was killed in Alaska. The dimensions of his body were such that, having stood on his hind legs, he could look into the window of the second floor of a typical five-story building.
In late summer and early autumn, grizzlies enter the stage of hyperphagia, lasting from 2 to 4 months. Simply put, they increase calorie intake to gain weight for hibernation. During this time, they can add up to 6 kg per day to their already impressive carcass.
2. Kodiak
Weight - up to 780 kg, length - up to 2.9 meters.
This furry giant lives on Kodiak Island in Alaska, hence its name. He is the largest of the brown bears in the world.
The most famous bear starring in the movie was also kodiak. He starred in such famous films as “The Bear”, “Legends of Autumn” and “On the Edge”. In total, there were 16 films in Bart's piggy bank.
1. White Polar Bear
Weight - up to a ton, length - up to 3 meters.
When asked about which bear is the largest, the Guinness Book of Records calls it a polar bear. Although in a race of sizes in the back of the head, a kodiak bear breathes to a white head.
These beautiful, exotic creatures live in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway and Russia.
The largest bear in the world has a common ancestor with brown bears. Therefore, the cross of a polar bear and a brown bear is not only possible, but also occurs regularly. Because of this, from 2% to 10% of the polar bears' genetic material is found in the brown bear population. Hybrids of a polar and brown bear are called polar grizzly.
However, brown bears are uncomfortable in those conditions in which polar bears feel at ease. And vice versa.
Curiously, in a hot climate, luxurious white polar bear fur can turn green. This is due to the fact that microscopic algae is wound up in the hairs.
The biggest bear ever - Arctodus simus
Weight - more than 1100 kg, length - up to 3.5 meters.
The extinct species of the Giant Short-faced Bear (Arctodus simus) is the largest bear in the history of the Earth. He lived about 12,000 years ago. The giant's habitat was the territory of North America.
