The brown bear
The Brown Bear – Scandinavia’s largest predator
The Scandinavian Brown Bear (ursus arctos arctos) is an omnivorous mammal. Its preferred habitat is coniferous forests and wood-clad mountains. It hibernates during the winter.
Distribution, age, weight
The brown bear may be found in Northern Europe, North America and Asia. In Norway, the brown bear is on the Red List of threatened species. A bear may reach the age of 50 in captivity and will live for 20-25 years in the wild. A male bear can weigh up to 350 kg, a female bear (she-bear) up to 200 kg.
The bear enters its den!
Every autumn the bear digs a new den in which it will sleep until March/April. During hibernation it loses around 40 percent of its body weight. The body temperature decreases from 38 to 33 degrees and the heart rate decreases from 40 to 10 beats per minute. What is most astonishing is that the bear burns calories without urinating – its urine is recycled! Without this capability the bear would die from lack of water.
What does the bear eat?
During the spring, as the bear leaves its den, ants will form an important part of its diet, as well as berries and carcasses from the previous year. From May to June it may feed on elk calves. During summer it eats mainly plants and ants. When autumn arrives, the bear lives off berries and the larvae of wasps and bees. The bear also eats rodents, bird’s eggs and fish. It rarely kills large animals.
The bear family
Generally, a bear will produce 1-3 cubs. The she-bear lies ‘in hibernation’ in the den when it is giving birth and when suckling the cubs. Newborn cubs are blind, deaf, toothless and hairless. They will live off their mother’s milk until the spring. The mother will then teach them how to forage for food, create a den and defend themselves. Recent research has shown that much of this information is already stored in the bears’ genes. The brown bear spends most of its life on its own. The few occasions when several brown bears gather together is during the mating season, and when the she-bear has cubs. A male bear that encounters a female bear with cubs may kill the cubs in order to mate.
Is the bear dangerous?
The Scandinavian Brown Bear is a peaceful animal. However, it can be dangerous to surprise a she-bear with cubs, an injured bear or a bear eating its prey; then the bear might try to defend itself and its prey/cubs. If you are in bear terrain, you should make some noise, talk and sing, so that you may be heard. When a bear encounters a person the first thing it will do is try to pick up a scent. It will sniff the air, swing its head from side to side and possibly raise itself up on two legs to gain a better overview. If it is able to pick up your scent, it will generally disappear. If you encounter a bear that does not withdraw, you should make your presence known and then carefully retreat without turning your back. Do not run! You must show the bear that you do not intend to attack.