Terrible brown bears are the majestic guardians of the forests. This beautiful animal is considered a symbol of Russia, although its numerous habitats can be found in all corners of our planet. Since the brown bear is in danger of extinction, it is listed in the Red Book. Basically, this animal lives in Russia, the USA and Canada. Not a large number of bears survived in Europe and Asia.

The lifestyle of this important "master of the taiga" is very interesting. How long does a brown bear live? How much weight can it reach? Most Interesting Facts we will tell about the life of the brown clubfoot in this article.

Brown bear: appearance description

This animal is very strong. The powerful body is covered with thick hair, and the withers stand out clearly on the back. It has accumulated a large number of muscles that allow the bear to inflict crushing blows with its paws, cut down trees or dig the ground.

His head is very large, with small ears and small, deep-set eyes. The tail of bears is short - about 2 cm, barely noticeable under a layer of wool. The paws are very strong, with large curved claws reaching a length of 10 cm. When walking, the bear evenly transfers the weight of the body to the entire sole, like a person, and therefore it belongs to the species of plantigrade animals.

The coat of the famous "master of the taiga" is very beautiful - thick, evenly colored. Brown bears have a tendency to molt - in spring and autumn they renew their fur coat. The first change of coat occurs immediately after hibernation and is very intense. Its manifestations are especially noticeable during the rut. Autumn molt proceeds slowly and continues until hibernation.

How long does a brown bear live?

The life expectancy of a clubfoot depends on its habitat. In conditions wildlife a brown bear can reach an age of 20 to 35 years. If the animal is kept in a zoo, this figure almost doubles. In captivity, a bear can live up to 50 years. The onset of puberty occurs between the ages of 6 and 11 years.

The size and weight of the animal

The standard length of the torso of a clubfoot predator ranges from one to two meters. The largest bears live in Alaska, Kamchatka and Far East. These are grizzlies, true giants, whose growth when standing on their hind legs reaches three meters.

The maximum weight of a bear (brown) can be 600 kg. These are real heavyweight giants. The average weight of an adult male is at the level of 140-400 kg, and the weight of a female is 90-210 kg. The largest male was found on Kodiak Island. His body weight was enormous - 1134 kg. However, animals living in central Russia weigh much less - about 100 kg.

By autumn, this animal accumulates a large fat reserve for the upcoming hibernation, and therefore the weight of the bear (brown) increases by 20%.

habitats

Mostly bears live in dense forest areas, in swampy areas. Often they can be seen in the tundra or alpine forests. In Russia, this animal occupies remote northern regions. Brown bears are very common in Siberia. The calm forests of the taiga allow clubfoot to feel spacious and free, and nothing prevents their existence here.

In the USA, bears live mainly in open areas - on the coasts, alpine meadows. In Europe, they mainly live in dense mountain forests.

In Asia, you can also find populations brown bear. Their range covers small areas of Palestine, Iran, northern China and the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

What do bears eat?

Omnivorousness and endurance are the main qualities that help the beast survive in difficult conditions. In the diet of a brown bear, 75% is plant food. The clubfoot can eat tubers, nuts, berries, grass stalks, roots, and acorns. If this is not enough, the bear can go to the crops of oats or corn, feed in cedar forests.

Large individuals have remarkable strength and prey on small young animals. With just one blow of a huge paw, a bear can break the spine of an elk or deer. He hunts roe deer, wild boars, fallow deer, mountain goats. Without problems, brown bears can eat rodents, larvae, ants, frogs, worms and lizards.

Skillful fishermen and camouflage

Bears often feed on carrion. The clubfoot skillfully covers the found remains of animals with brushwood and tries to stay nearby until it completely eats its “find”. If the bear has eaten recently, it may wait a few days. After a while, the meat of the killed animal will become softer, and he will eat it with pleasure.

The most amazing occupation of bears is catching fish. They go to the Far Eastern spawning rivers, where salmon massively accumulate. Especially often she-bears with their offspring hunt here. The mother skillfully catches the salmon and takes it to her cubs.

At the same time, up to 30 bears can be seen on the river, which often fight for prey.

Behavior

The bear has a very developed sense of smell. He clearly feels the smell of decomposed meat, even being at a distance of 3 km from him. His hearing is also very well developed. Sometimes the bear stands up on its hind legs to listen for a sound or feel the direction of the smell of food.

How does a bear behave in nature? The brown "master of the taiga" begins to bypass his possessions at dusk or early in the morning. In bad weather or during rainy periods, he can wander through the forest all day long in search of food.

Speed ​​and agility are the hallmarks of the beast

At first glance, this huge animal seems very clumsy and slow. But it's not. The big brown bear is very agile and easy to move around. In pursuit of the victim, he can reach speeds of up to 60 km / h. The bear is also an excellent swimmer. He can easily cover a distance of 6-10 km on water and swims with pleasure on hot summer days.

Young bears nimbly climb trees. With age, this ability becomes a little dull, but does not disappear. However, deep snow is a difficult test for them, since the bear moves through it with great difficulty.

breeding season

Having regained strength after a long sleep, brown bears are ready to mate. The rut begins in the spring, in May, and lasts about a month. Females announce their readiness for mating with a special secret that has a strong odor. According to these marks, males find their chosen ones and protect them from rivals.

Sometimes fierce battles arise between two bears for a female, in which the fate, and sometimes the life of one of them, is decided. In the event of the death of one of the males, the winner can even eat it.

During the mating season, bears are very dangerous. They make a wild roar and can attack a person.

Reproduction of offspring

Exactly 6-8 months later, cubs are born in the den. Usually the female brings 2-4 cubs, completely bald, with underdeveloped organs of hearing and vision. However, after a month, the cubs' eyes open, and the ability to pick up sounds appears. Immediately after birth, the cubs weigh about 500 g, and their length reaches 25 cm. By 3 months, all the milk teeth erupt in the cubs.

Babies feed on their mother's milk for the first 6 months of their lives. Then berries, insects, greens are added to their diet. Later, the mother brings them fish or her prey. For about 2 years, babies live with their mother, learn habits, the subtleties of hunting, and hibernate with her. The independent life of a young bear begins at the age of 3-4 years. The father bear never takes part in the upbringing of the offspring.

Lifestyle

The brown bear is a fickle animal. In one place he eats, in another he sleeps, and for mating he can move away from his usual habitat for several kilometers. The young bear roams the area until he starts a family.

The brown master marks his possessions. He alone can hunt here. He marks the borders in a special way, tearing the bark from the trees. In areas without plantings, a bear can peel off objects that are in its field of vision - stones, slopes.

In summer, he can rest carelessly in open glades, lying down directly on the ground. The main thing is that this place is secluded and safe for the bear.

Why a rod?

Before hibernation, the bear must gain the required amount of fat reserves. If it is not enough, the animal has to wander further in search of food. From this came the name - connecting rod.

Moving in the cold season, the bear is doomed to death from frost, hunger or a hunter's gun. However, in winter you can meet not only connecting rod. Often a bear's sleep can simply be disturbed by humans. Then this well-fed beast is forced to seek a new shelter in order to again plunge into hibernation.

Finding a lair

The bear chooses this winter haven with special care. For lairs, reliable calm places are chosen, located on the borders of swamps, in windbreaks, on the banks of rivers, in secluded caves. The shelter should be dry, warm, spacious and safe.

The bear equips its den with moss, laying out a soft bedding from it. The shelter is masked and insulated with tree branches. Very often a bear has been using a good den for several years.

The life of brown bears is to search for food, especially before hibernation. Before falling asleep, the beast diligently confuses its tracks: it walks through the swamps, winds and even steps backwards.

Quiet and relaxing holiday

Bears sleep in a cozy den throughout the long frosty winter. Old males leave their shelter before anyone else. The she-bear with her offspring stays in the den longer than the others. Hibernation of brown bears lasts 5-6 months. It usually starts in October and ends in April.

Bears do not go into deep sleep. They remain sensitive and vital, they are easily disturbed. The body temperature of a bear during sleep is in the range of 29-34 degrees. During hibernation, little energy is consumed, and the clubfoot has enough of its fat reserve, acquired during active time. During winter holiday the bear loses about 80 kg of its weight.

Wintering features

All winter the bear sleeps on its side, comfortably curled up. Less common are postures on the back or sitting, with the head down. Breath and heartbeat slow down during sleep.

Surprisingly, this animal does not defecate during winter sleep. All waste products in the body of a bear are re-processed and converted into valuable proteins necessary for its existence. The rectum is closed by a dense cork, consisting of needles, compressed grass and wool. It is removed after the animal leaves the den.

Does the bear suck its paw?

Many naively believe that during hibernation the clubfoot extracts valuable vitamins from their limbs. But it's not. The fact is that in January there is a renewal of the skin on the paw pads of a bear. Old dry skin bursts and gives him severe discomfort. To somehow moderate this itching, the bear licks its paw, moisturizing and softening it with its saliva.

Dangerous and strong animal

The bear is first of all a predator, powerful and terrible. A chance meeting with this angry beast will not bring anything good.

Spring rut, winter search for a new shelter - during these periods, the brown bear is most dangerous. Descriptions or photographs of animals that live in nurseries and are friendly to people should not deceive you - they grew up there in completely different conditions. In nature, a seemingly calm beast can be cruel and easily blow your head off. Especially if you wandered into his territory.

Females with offspring should also be avoided. The mother is driven by instincts and aggression, so it is better not to get in her way.

Of course, the behavior of a clubfoot depends on the situation and time of year. Often the bears themselves run away when they see a person in the distance. But do not think that since this beast can eat berries and honey, this is his favorite food. The best nutrition for a bear, it is meat, and he will never miss an opportunity to get it.

Why clubfoot?

This nickname has firmly stuck to the bear. And all from the fact that when walking, he steps alternately on the right and left paws. Therefore, from the side it seems that the bear is clubfoot.

But this slowness and clumsiness is deceptive. In the event of a dangerous situation, this beast instantly gallops and easily overtakes a person. The peculiarity of the structure of the front and hind legs allows him to show unprecedented agility when climbing uphill. He conquers peaks much faster than he descends from them.

It took more than one millennium to form such a complex system of habitat and life of this amazing animal. As a result, brown bears have gained the ability to survive in areas where severe climatic conditions. Nature is amazing, and one can only admire her wisdom and immutable laws that put everything in its place.

Conservation status: Least endangered species.
Listed in the IUCN Red List

Few animals capture the human imagination as much as the brown bear. They are priority inhabitants of the animal world, which are so necessary to be preserved. Given the dependence on large territorial areas, brown bears are an important component in the control of a number of other animals.

The brown bear is one of the largest predators among animals. On average, adult males are 8-10% larger than females, but sizes vary depending on where the species lives. Brown bears feed in the morning and evening, and in the daytime they prefer to rest under dense vegetation. Depending on the season, brown bears can travel hundreds of kilometers to find food.

hibernation

Hibernation lasts from October-December to March-May. In some southern regions, the duration of hibernation is very short or non-existent. A brown bear chooses a place for itself, for example, a hole, which is located on a protected slope under a large stone or among the roots. big tree. The same hibernation sites can be used for many years.

Dimensions

The brown bear, not the largest among the bear family, belongs to the championship. However, this species can reach enormous sizes - males weigh around 350-450 kilograms, while females average 200 kilograms. There are individuals whose mass exceeds half a ton.

Color

Although the coat is usually dark brown, there are also other colors - from cream to almost black. Color depends on habitat. In the Rocky Mountains (USA), brown bears have long hair on their shoulders and back.

habitats

Brown bears live in a variety of places from the outskirts of deserts to high mountain forests and ice fields. In Europe, brown bears are found in mountain forests, in Siberia their main habitat is forests, and in North America they prefer alpine meadows and coasts. The main requirement for this species is the presence of dense vegetation in which the brown bear can find shelter in the daytime.

Life cycle

Newborn bears are vulnerable because they are born blind, without a coat and weighing only 340-680 grams. Cubs grow very quickly and reach 25 kilograms at 6 months. The lactation period lasts 18-30 months. Cubs usually stay with their mother until the third or fourth year of life. Despite the fact that puberty occurs at 4-6 years old, the brown bear continues to grow and develop until 10-11 years old. In the wild, they can live from 20 to 30 years, but despite this life expectancy, most die at an early age.

reproduction

Mating in brown bears falls on the warm months (May-July). Pregnancy lasts 180-266 days, and the birth of cubs occurs in January-March, as a rule, at this time, females are in hibernation. Usually 2-3 cubs are born from one female. The next offspring can be expected in 2-4 years.

Nutrition

Brown bears are omnivorous, and their diet varies depending on the time of year - from grass in spring, berries and apples in summer, to nuts and plums in autumn. Throughout the year, they feed on roots, insects, mammals (including moose and wapiti from the Canadian Rockies), reptiles, and of course honey. In Alaska, bears feed on spawning salmon during the summer.

Population and distribution

The total population of the brown bear on the planet is about 200,000 individuals, while Russia has the largest number - close to 100,000 individuals.

8,000 brown bears are thought to inhabit the area Western Europe(Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania). There are also suggestions that the species can be found in Palestine, Eastern Siberia and the Himalayan regions. Possible habitats are the territories of the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa and the island of Hokkaido, located in Japan.

The brown bear is still fairly common in the mountainous regions of western Canada and Alaska, where numbers can reach up to 30,000. There are fewer than 1,000 brown bears left in other parts of the US.

Historical distribution

Previously, the brown bear was common in the North and Central Europe, Asia, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria, western North America south to Mexico. Before the arrival of European settlers, the species lived on the Great Plains of North America. Populations from the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains were extirpated, and those remaining in northern Mexico perished in the 1960s. In the early 1900s, there were about 100,000 individuals in the United States.

Main Threats

Brown bears are hunted as large hunting trophies, as well as for meat and skins. gall bladders bears are highly valued in the Asian market as they are popularly believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Meaning useful properties products derived from bear body parts do not have a medical backing, but the demand for them is growing every year.

Habitat destruction and persecution are other major threats. These problems affect the brown bear population to varying degrees, but extend to the entire range.

For example, at present, the brown bear can be found on only 2% of the previously inhabited territory. Forestry, mining, road construction and other human activities have contributed to the decline in the number of bears due to the destruction of their natural habitat.

In some countries, human-bear conflict arises, which creates a number of problems, especially in areas where the brown bear encounters livestock, gardens, water supplies, and garbage cans.

Video

In this article, we present the results of a study of brown bear feeding in the Central part European Russia on the example of several districts of the Tver and Novgorod regions, where a very large complex of biotechnical measures is being carried out aimed at increasing the number of brown bears.

The bear is an omnivorous animal that feeds on various animals (from insects to elk and deer) and a variety of plant foods.

The size of its habitat depends on the abundance of food.

In forests rich in fodder, the animal can keep on an area of ​​300 - 800 hectares.

In the mountains, as a rule, it migrates: starting in spring, it feeds in the valleys, where the snow melts earlier, then goes to the barrens and alpine meadows, then gradually descends into the forest belt when berries and nuts ripen here.

Often the first half of the summer the bear lives on one side of the mountain, the second - on the other, tens of kilometers from the first ("Hunting in Russia" WiMo, 1992).

The climatic features of this strip of Russia in winter period known for their softness. This contributes to the earlier awakening of bears from winter sleep.

The entire period of activity throughout the year is divided into four stages: early spring, spring, summer, autumn.

After leaving the den, the bears still have sufficient reserves of fat and are in no hurry to leave the winter refuge. For two weeks, they may not move further than 200 m from the den. This depends on the height of the snow cover in the forest.

Bears are very lethargic at this time. Having gone out to a place well lit by the sun, they can freeze for a long time in one position, swaying and only occasionally looking in different directions.

Not far from the main lair, there are usually several more beds with bedding. When, finally, hunger makes itself felt, the bears begin to wander in search of food and often anthills fall under their disfavor. The last ones to leave the dens are females with cubs born in winter.

To restore their strength, they need high-calorie food. In the early spring period, the basis of their nutrition is food of animal origin. Bears have repeatedly been observed chasing broods of wild boars and elk calves. There are 17 baits on 16 thousand hectares (the area of ​​the studied area), which are regularly updated.

Visiting them begins around the beginning of April, with the exception of 2007. The first bear was observed at the bait on March 10 due to the abnormally warm winter.

Going round the boundaries of the site, every now and then you meet traces of bears returning from their winter quarters. The number of bears visiting the bait is increasing every week.

As a rule, the bear does not throw the carrion he has found, especially if it is a large animal. But there is a fact when the animal, having fed once or twice, throws the carcass and leaves in the direction from which it came.

This was confirmed in the following. We laid out two fallen calves in different places. One is where the traces of the observed bear are constantly found (the width of the palmar callus is 14 cm), the second is five kilometers to the south.

As a result, the bear ate the bait in three days, which lay in the place of its most common traces. Then, after a break of three days, he found the second calf, ate the entrails, and left.

The direction of the wind during the study changed from north to northwest, that is, it can be assumed that the bear simply bypassed this part of the forest. A day later, he again came to the burial place of the first bait, although there was nothing left there except for the bones.

After a week, the bear did not appear on the second bait, but visited the remains of the first regularly. It could be assumed that he sensed the presence of another, larger bear and left. But in this area during the observations we did not come across any bears or she-bears with cubs.

After examining this area more carefully, we found a marker tree with old claw marks at a height of more than two meters.

The retired bear confirmed the fact of the territorial attachment of individuals.

Throughout the summer and autumn period, its traces are found along the roads in the vicinity of this tract. As a rule, cubs behave this way at the beginning of their independent life. They look for food where their mother took them in their first two years of life.

As in early spring and spring, and autumn periods there is a very large activity in visiting the bait. In the spring, this is due to the replenishment of the lack of calories after winter sleep, and in the fall, with the replenishment of fat reserves before laying in the den.

One adult male is able to eat about 30 kg of meat at one time, and if you consider that at least three individuals visit the bait, then you have to lay the bait two or even three times a week.

I would like to note that the laying of bait from cattle has a positive effect on the attacks of bears on herds of cows. During the seven years of the existence of the farm, such facts have not been recorded.

Bears are practically not picky in food of animal origin, but we decided to check what they still prefer. Having dug to the same depth (30 cm) and with a distance of about 3 meters from each other, a horse, a cow, an elk and a pig, began to observe.

The bears ate the bait in the following sequence - elk, horse, cow, pig practically did not touch, they only ate internal organs. In all cases, the internal organs and udders of cows are first eaten away, they are the richest in biologically active substances and enzymes.

Subsequently, when organizing hunts on a bait, when a bear worthy of becoming a trophy appeared, we kept it with a bait of horses.

As noted above, bears, like most other animal species, have their own territories, which they mark with bullies on the bark of trees, usually conifers.

This fact has been noted by researchers in the past. The area of ​​an individual site is from 5-15 to several tens of square kilometers (Mashkin V.I., 2003).

The bear is a vagrant, wandering in search of the richest territories for food, but almost always returning to spend the winter in the places where he was born. Any, even the most powerful biotechnology, is powerless here.

Every autumn we observe a mass retreat of bears outside the farm. Bears are characterized by a change of biotopes during the year, and in some areas - seasonal migrations.

In the Urals, sometimes bears make transitions from the western to the eastern slopes in autumn, covering distances of up to 300 km. Changes in habitats are associated with changes in feeding conditions, with the mass appearance of blood-sucking insects, with earlier snowfall on slopes of certain exposures, etc. Movements can be caused by forest fires or drought (Mashkin V.I., 2003).

For several years I have had to observe the behavior of bears when they meet each other during visual counts on oats in autumn and on a bait in spring. They have an age hierarchy and the right of the strong to be able to feed on, say, the same bait, but this, as a rule, is due to a shortage of feed.

Once I had to observe how eleven bears of different age categories and a herd of wild boars of nine heads fed at the same time on an oat field with an area of ​​​​about three hectares. At the edge of all feeding fields, as I have already noted, a bait is laid.

The bears did not react to each other in any way, only from time to time some of them rose on their hind legs to examine the newcomers to the feeding field. They took turns approaching the bait. After making sure that once again one of the brothers ate, the next one approached.

Bears usually come out to feed at sunset, but the older and more careful the beast, the later it comes out. Repeatedly, when driving around the feeding fields, it was necessary to observe feeding bears in the interval from 9 to 11 in the morning, but these were young bears.

To determine daily activity, for a long time I observed bears from observation towers located directly on feeding fields and sites in various hunting farms of the Tver region in the Penovsky, Toropetsky, Selizharovsky, Firovsky, Andreapolsky districts, as well as the Marevsky district of the Novgorod region.

As a result of the research, it turned out that both in spring and autumn, bears visited feeding fields and grounds from 21:00 to 24:00. This was followed by a break until four o'clock in the morning, and the bears wishing to feed again appeared, but at such a time of day it was not necessary to see young bears.

The young began to appear at about six o'clock in the morning. However, in the spring of 2005, instability was noticed in visiting the privada, and in all the above areas.

More than 90% of the bears were reluctant to bait even after 12 am or between 4 am and 7 am. For the period from 2000 to 2007, this was observed for the first time. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the winter was not very cold, and since autumn the bears have stocked up with enough fat.

After a successful spring hunting on a bait (beginning of May), the subcutaneous layer of fat on the buttock of the male (palm callus width 15 cm) was 8 cm thick.

The need for animal feed in the early spring period continues until the appearance of vegetable feed. As a rule, this occurs at the beginning of May, and plants are still the basis of the bears' diet.

This fact was previously noted by researchers in their works. At this time, bears on a bait can be seen less and less. In the spring of 2007, in the hunting farm "Zhukovskoye" of the Smolensk region, a bear with a palmar callus width of 18 cm carefully collected oats from the ground, sown in a fodder field.

In spring, bears often eat various ballasts: stump dust, cereal rags, construction debris from anthills.

At the same time, they eat at this time spruce and pine needles, blueberry shoots and its roots, aspen buds, linden, mountain ash, maple, willow, sometimes chaga (birch mushroom), as well as various sedges that have melted out from under the snow, gnawing the stems to internodes, in swamps - cottongrass and squat cranberries (V.S. Pazhetnov, 1990).

We have identified several major and minor species from different plant families that form the basis of the diet from spring to late autumn. These are mainly grasses, sedges and umbrella plants.

A study was carried out on bear excrement in the spring to determine the composition of the feed.

The ratio of feed of animal and vegetable origin was almost the same. In the early spring period, excrement consists of more than 95% of digested meat, while the remaining 5% is tree buds, plant roots, spruce and pine needles, and the so-called ballast.

15 samples of excrement collected in different areas of the farm were examined. According to the structure of plant food residues, it turned out that preference is given to more juicy shoots, such as dissected hogweed (Heracleum sibiricum L.), angelica (Archangelica officinalis), forest angelica (Angelica silvestris), common raspberry (Rubus idaeus) leaves.

These herbaceous plants and shrubs are united by the ability to stimulate and favorably influence the gastrointestinal tract, especially since after a long stay in a state of winter sleep, in which neither the stomach nor the intestines work, the bears urgently need to restore the functions of these organs.

Looking ahead, I want to note that fragments of these plants are found in excrement, starting from the early spring and ending with the autumn period.

The number of plant species eaten by a bear is not the same in different months. The minimum species diversity of plants in the diet of animals in April is 7% (cereals, sedges) of the total list of species eaten by animals. This is due to the beginning of the vegetation of plants, when the main fodder plants have not yet sprouted (Okaemov V.S., 2004).

As for mammals and ungulate mammals, in terms of structure and appearance hair found in excrement is wild boar (Sus scrofa), elk (Alces alces), badger (Meles meles), possibly dead for some reason.

The remaining components of excrement (spruce needles, insects, mosses) are ballast.

The Gobi brown bear is also called a mazalai. This animal is a subspecies of the brown bear and lives in the Mongolian Gobi Desert.

Mazalai are perhaps the only bears that can be found only on the territory of Mongolia. Nowhere else, in any zoo in the world, you will not see this species of clubfoot. The results of the registration of all bears were published in the International Fund for the Protection of Wild Animals - there are 56 subspecies of them. However, the Gobi Brown was not included in this list.

Description of the gobi bear

Gobi bears are relatively small. Their coarse sparse fur is colored in light brown or whitish-bluish tones.

The chest, shoulder parts of the body and the throat are “threaded” with a white stripe. Bear claws are light. The second and third fingers on the hind legs are fused by almost a third. In the summer, the males of the mazalai have a brown coat, and in the winter they acquire a brown-gray color. Their legs and neck are darker than the body.

Lifestyle, nutrition and reproduction of the Mazalays

For wintering, Mazaalai settle in caves or make dens under trees. In summer, they can be more often seen near the water, where there are many plants that are part of the bear's diet. In addition, gobi bears like rhubarb roots, berries, wild onions and other plants that can be found in the desert. Sometimes clubfoot feed on carrion, rodents, birds, lizards or insects. Unlike other bears, Mazaalai are predominantly herbivores.

After mating, the female severely breaks up with the male, driving him out of her territory. Every two years, a mother bear gives birth to a pair of cubs. Each weighs approximately 500 grams. In harsh times, it was noticed that the female sacrificed one of the cubs for the sake of survival.

Protecting Gobi brown bears

Mazaalai was listed as an endangered species of animals, since the number of these bears is very low, and this fact was noted in the national Red Book. The researchers were not too lazy to count the number of Mazalays on the territory of the “Great Gobi” and reported that no more than 30 bears remained.

The number of Gobi clubfoot has decreased so much that it is time to sound the alarm not only at the national, but also at the world level.

Limited by insufficient funding and extreme conditions in the Gobi desert, the mazalai bears cannot be adequately researched by specialists, and as a result, a plan for developing their conservation activities has not been drawn up. However, thanks to the creation of a supplementary food base program initiated by the government in the 80s, it plays an important role in preserving the tiny population of Gobi bears.

A group of scientists and employees of the reserve monitors the behavior of the Mazalays in their natural habitat, directly in the spring, when the bears come out of hibernation. During this period, animals need food. Food is left in special feeders until new vegetation grows. It is thanks to such data collection points in the form of feeders that it is possible to install remote-controlled cameras and study the behavior of the Mazalays.

Attention, only TODAY!

Days in the northern hemisphere are getting longer and warmer. Of course, people rejoice in the coming heat. However, the same cannot be said for polar bears. Animals feel great at temperatures of -45 degrees and below. But from overheating they experience discomfort. In addition, an increase in average temperatures creates the prerequisites for a reduction in the population of the planet's largest predator.

What is happening in the Arctic today? Polar bears feed exclusively on the meat of mammals, mainly pinnipeds: seals, seals, in addition, the bear eats carrion and what the sea throws out. Sometimes, when he is especially hungry, he feeds on rodents, moss and berries.

Reducing the area of ​​ice cover Arctic seas and changes in the age structure of sea ice are forcing polar bears to spend more time on the coast and on the islands. Staying ashore for a long time, polar bears are deprived of access to their main food object - seals that live on sea ​​ice, and are also at high risk of collision with a person, as a result of which they can be shot.

Today, according to scientists, there are 20-25 thousand individuals left on earth. Is it a lot or a little? Should we keep this view? And if they should, then why? Let's figure it out.

So, how many white bears are left? NO! Their number is extremely small. And it continues to decline, despite the protection of the animal and the ban on its prey. Just one fact. Between 2004 and 2007, out of 80 human-tagged polar bear cubs, only two survived. Previously, at least 50% of newborns managed to survive.

The answer to the next question is already obvious. We must, we simply must protect this species from extinction. And this should be done not because polar bears are cute, or so that our descendants will see them live, and not in photographs. If the polar bear disappears, the ecosystem of the Arctic will also be under threat. As we already know, diet polar bear- These are various marine animals, mainly pinnipeds. Based on this fact, it can be assumed that the population of these species will increase dramatically after the disappearance of their main enemy. But the number of fish living in the waters of the Arctic Ocean may be reduced, as marine predators will become many times larger, which means that they will need more food. And this will be a huge problem, both for animals and for people.

On the other side, polar bears provide food for small predators unable to feed themselves by hunting. If a bear manages to kill a walrus, then first of all it devours the skin and fat, the rest of the carcass - only in case of severe hunger. The rest of the prey is usually eaten by Arctic foxes. This means that without the help of minds, arctic foxes may be on the verge of extinction or even die.

Thus, people must do everything to keep the polar bear alive.

What steps is Russia taking in this direction?

In Russia, hunting for a polar bear has been completely prohibited since 1957; this species is listed in the Red Book. Other Arctic countries started introducing hunting restrictions much later.

Since 2010, the Russian Geographical Society has been supporting the Polar Bear project. Its goal is the conservation and study of polar bears in the Russian Arctic, the development of non-invasive methods for collecting biological material (discarded guard hairs, excrement) for genetic studies of the population structure of the species in the region.

By the way, the study of these animals by Russian scientists is the most humane in the world. So, in the United States, to this day, to study polar bears, a tusk is pulled out from a euthanized animal. What then is a predator to live without tools for hunting?

The Russian Geographical Society is constantly expanding the range of studies of the polar bear: at first it was the Barents Sea population, in 2013 the first aviation census of the Chukotka-Alaska population was carried out, and in 2014 work began on the coast of Taimyr.

The work is carried out in cooperation with the Council for Marine Mammals, the National Park "Russian Arctic", "Reserves of Taimyr", as well as the Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after A.N. Severtsov RAS.

On March 22-24 this year, Russian scientists met with American colleagues in San Diego. During the meeting, a document was signed on the joint study of polar bears in Chukotka and Alaska in the period 2016-2018.

Thus, for many years Russia has been taking care of the preservation of the population of the northern predator. We understand that to save polar bears means to save the ecosystem of the Arctic, and, consequently, the ecosystem of the Earth.

Well, who will now say that Russia is pursuing only its own utilitarian goals in the Arctic?