Name That Bear
Bear-ology
Bear Cubs
Bears in Media
Bear Preservation
100
This is the largest species of bear
Polar Bear 🐻❄️
100
bear are _________, meaning they eat plants and animals
omnivores 🐟🌴
diets can vary from species to species but bears' diets consist of a range of foods such as grasses, leaves, fungi, roots, berries, seeds, insects and small mammals, fish (salmon!), etc.
100
at what age is a bear considered an adult?
5-6
Biologists classify bears as adults once they are 5-6 years old. Like many other organisms, adulthood is defined by reaching sexual maturity and generally occurs around the bear’s sixth year.
100
What fictional British bear first appeared in 1958 in a children’s book?
Paddington bear
Paddington first appeared on October 13, 1958, in a book called A Bear Called Paddington. Since then, he has been adapted for films, tv, and commercials.
100
this is the name of the national park in Alaska that hosts Fat Bear Week
Katmai National Park
Katmai was establish in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding it! Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve protects 9,000 years of human history and serves as an extremely important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears
200
This type of bear is unique for having "thumbs"
Panda bear 🐼
Fun fact! These “thumbs” are actually just enlarged wrist bones that help pandas grasp bamboo!
Additional fun fact: pandas were not initially born to eat bamboo. As a result of food scarcity, they evolved to eat bamboo (hence, the “thumb”), and have decrease energy as a result
200
how many species of bears are there?
8
giant panda bear, brown bear (grizzly and kodiak), american black bear, polar bear, sloth bear, sun bear, asiatic black bear (also called moon bear), andean bear
200
How big are cubs when they’re born? (smaller than you think)
average about 1 pound at birth
Bears are small, without fur, and blind when they’re born. They average about 1 pound and depend entirely on their mother for nourishment. They grow very quickly after they are born due to their mom’s nutrient-rich milk.
200
this is where Winnie the Pooh lives
hundred acre wood
Though the hundred acre wood is a fictional forest, it is inspired by the real-life Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England
200
of all of the bear species, how many are considered vulnerable or endangered?
6 of the 8 species
giant pandas are considered endangered
polar bears, sun bears, asiatic black bears, sloth bears, and andean bears are considered vulnerable
brown bears and american black bears are of the least concern
300
Name the real bear! This bear is the only real bear of the three listed - the other two are misnomers -- the red panda, the koala bear, the sloth bear
the sloth bear
Koalas are considered “marsupials” and red pandas are in their own unique category called “ailuridae”
300
Despite popular belief, bears are not true hibernators. Instead, bears enter torpor, in which their heartrate slows, body temperature decreases, and their slumber isn't regulated by seasonal or hormonal changes. How many months do the longest torpors last?
7-8 months
300
how long do cubs stay with their mother? (hint: think about Katmai's Fat Bear Week bios and when bears are considered independent)
2.5 years
Cubs will generally stay with their mother for 2.5 years. During their first year of life, they are called spring cubs, the second year they are called yearlings. The bears in Katmai typically separate from their moms in May or June of their third summer.
300
this president inspired the first stuffed teddy bear
theodore "teddy" roosevelt
300
this state hunted grizzly bears to extinction (hint: they still have a bear on their state flag)
california
400
DAILY DOUBLE
this type of bear has the longest claws and longest tongue of any species (but it the smallest living bear species overall!)
the sun bear
fun fact: sun bears weight between 25 and 65 pounds and have sticky tongues up to 10 inches to eat honey and insects
400
a group of bears is called this
a "sleuth" or "sloth" 🐻🐻🐻
400
what sounds do bear cubs use to communicate with their mother?
screams when distressed, grunts and chirps to get mom's attention, cooing or whining when they want to nurse, humming/purring while nursing or feeling safe and happy
400
This children’s book series was created in 1962 and eventually was the subject of a Mandela Effect controversy
The Berenstain Bears
400
Name 3 of the ways you can protect bears in your area
- Do not feed them
- Keep garbage out of reach
- Protect your garden
- Store pet food properly
- Use bird feeders wisely
- Clean and store barbecue grills
- Never approach a bear
- Contact your local national park or state department of wildlife for support
Bears are quick learners and when people feed them (intentionally or not), they begin to associate humans with food, which then can pose a safety threat and cause them to be killed or relocated from their habitat
500
This South American bear, called the Andean Bear, is also know as the _______________ bear due it’s face pattern that resembles glasses!
the spectacled bear
Fun Fact: We know very little about the Andean Bear (native to the Andes)! This is because they’re very reclusive, which limits our research on these shy little guys!
500
When you see a brown bear in the wild, you should ______________, but when you see a black bear, you should _____________
Brown bears: make yourself small and non-threatening or play dead
This is because grizzly bears are territorial creatures and will fight a perceived threat
Black bears: make yourself big, speak in a loud voice
This is because black bears are naturally curious and jumpy, and will be scared away easily
Rhyme:
- If it’s black, fight back (black bear)
- If it’s brown, lay down (grizzly)
- If it’s white, goodnight (polar bear)
500
what percentage of a brown bear's milk is fat? (will accept within 5%)
20-25%
bear milk is especially rich and has one of the highest fat contents of any land mammal. this is what helps the cubs grow so quickly!
500
in which decade was the Smokey Bear cartoon created?
the 1940s
Smokey was created in 1944 by the United States Forest Services to educate the public on wildfire prevention
500
Name 3 of the major concerns of polar bear conservation, aside from climate change (which is the most prominent threat to polar bears right now)
- Commercial activity (oil and gas exploration, shipping, mining)
- Intraspecies conflict and encounters
- Pollution
- Disease
- Overharvesting/ overhunting
- Unregulated/ poorly regulated tourism
All of these concerns relate back to climate change and climate warming, as the sea ice melts, many problems arise for the polar bear populations due to their space/ habitat decreasing. Climate warming also relates to an increase of disease as more humans and other species migrate towards polar bear habitats and potentially introduce more diseases