Overview
One of the smaller brown bears. In Tibetan specimens, all hairs are black at the base, with many of them white for half their length, giving the coat an overall bluish tinge. The face and front of the body are essentially white. There is a white collar on the back of the neck, and behind that a black patch on top of the shoulders. The lower forelegs are black. The claws are white. Gansu specimens are somewhat darker and less vividly colored, the tips of the hairs being yellowish rather than white. The face is buff, with a reddish-brown area around the eyes, and blackish-brown ears. There is a broad white collar around the neck, a large patch of black and yellow hairs on top of the shoulders, and a reddish band down the middle of the back. The legs are black. The teeth are very large, especially the molars, which are larger than those of other brown bears.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Family
- Ursidae
- Genus
- Ursus
- Species
- Ursus arctos
Habitat
Remote mountains and forests. Distribution- Southern and eastern Tibet and adjacent parts of Qinghai Province in China, extending into Gansu and Sichuan provinces.
Diet
Omnivorous, it eats grasses, sedges, roots, bulbs, berries, rodents, salmon and also carrion.
Behavior
Unsociable and usually solitary except when mating or when forced by circumstances to share a salmon fishery with other bears. With no enemies other than humans, it is active at all hours. Breeding takes place during May and June. The female mates every second or third year, producing a litter of cubs (1-4, but usually two), which are born in the den in January or February. She is an excellent mother, the cubs remaining with her at least two years, and often three or four. An Alaska brown bear is full grown at 10-11 years and has a life expectancy, barring accidents, of 25-30 years. Individuals have lived more than 36 years in captivity. Eyesight is only fair, but hearing and sense of smell are very acute. Usual pace is a slow walk, but capable of running fast. Unable to jump. An excellent swimmer. Cubs can climb trees, but adults, with their long foreclaws and heavy bodies, cannot. Normally silent, but can growl, grunt, roar, sniff and cough. Extremely strong and highly alert. Usually cautious and unaggressive toward man, but there are exceptions. Retires to its den during the cold of winter and sleeps for months. A sleeping bear can come to life with little provocation. A bear will often leave its den in late winter to briefly wander outside.
Hunting
The Tibetan brown bear is hunted on foot under trying conditions. Wearing hipboots and rain gear and carrying a heavy rifle, the hunter must wade rivers and negotiate muskeg swamps, tag alder thickets, steep mountainsides and soft snow. Should he find a good bear after long hours of glassing and waiting, he must get within range quickly because bears seldom remain in one place for long. He must shoot well, for a wounded brown bear is a very serious matter. He should be prepared to spend as many as half his allotted hunting days confined to his tent (or cabin, if he is lucky) in weather too foul to hunt in. He can count on being wet, cold, and bone-tired much of the time.
Conservation Status
The species as a whole is listed as Least Concern by IUCN, but the classification does not distinguish this subspecies. More information is needed to ascertain the current population dynamics of the Tibetan Brown Bear, which is considered to be rare.