Bears of North America: Black Bears, Brown Bears, and Polar Bears

by Stan Tekiela

Overview

Get to know black bears, brown bears, and polar bears like never before—through Stan Tekiela’s wildlife photography, personal anecdotes, and years of research.

They are icons of our wild places. They are powerful and intimidating, yet they signify calmness, comfort, and peace. Bears are adored around the world. They are magnificent animals that capture our fascination. Enter the world of bears with award-winning author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer Stan Tekiela.

Crawling into black bear dens in northern Wisconsin, trekking across the Manitoba tundra in search of polar bears, traversing the Rocky Mountains in pursuit of grizzly bears, Stan spent more than 20 years traveling across the United States and Canada to observe and photograph bears. He documented every aspect of their lives: major events such as mating and hibernation (torpor), as well as everyday activities including foraging, hunting, and socializing. The result is a striking portrayal of these mammals in Bears of North America. Stan’s extraordinary photographs depict the creatures in a new, unique fashion. The coffee-table book is pleasurable to browse and easy to read.

Accompany Stan on some of the greatest adventures of his life. Explore North America’s desolate areas with him, pursuing these resourceful animals. With his instinct for being in the right place at the right time, Stan utilizes rare opportunities to capture some of the most compelling images of his career. Through this book, you can share in his research and develop a new appreciation and respect for bears. Bears of North America is a must-have for lovers of wildlife and nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647554132
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Series:	Favorite Wildlife
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela is the author of more than 190 field guides, nature books, children’s books, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 35 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs. Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations.

Read an Excerpt

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in bears depends on many diverse factors. In cubs, the survival rate is less than 50 percent. This means that usually only one of two cubs will survive until it leaves its mother. Once a cub gets past 2–3 years of age, the chances of it living a long life increase dramatically.

Depending on the location, Black Bears can live 20–30 years. In heavily hunted regions, most don’t make it to 8 years of age; others have made it to age 10, but this is rare. Captive Black Bears, on the other hand, live very long lives. It’s not unusual for them to reach 40 years or more.

Brown Bears can live 30–40 years in the wild. One of the oldest captive Brown Bears lived into its mid-50s. Data about Polar Bears is not as abundant, but recent evidence shows that, like Black Bears in captivity, captive Polar Bears live well into their 40s.

No matter the species, one fact that remains the same is that most bears die as a result of human contact. These fatalities are from seasonal hunting or collisions with vehicles.

Roaming the home range

Unlike wolves and other large animals that defend a territory year-round, adult bears define and advertise a territory during breeding season. At other times of the year, they move around freely and often interact with each other without conflict.

Black Bears have a much smaller range than Brown Bears. Black Bear males move around an area of approximately 50–60 square miles, while females cover only 8–10 square miles. Brown Bears, including Grizzly Bears and Alaska’s subspecies, have a range of about 100–200 square miles. These bears often stay in the region for long periods of time. Polar Bear ranges are upwards of 20,000 square miles.

Movement within a home range is based on available food. The more concentrated the food supply, the less the bears roam. When food is limited, bears search harder for meals and roaming increases.

Bears are remarkable navigators—far better than most other animals and certainly better than humans. Bears can travel great distances across many habitats without becoming lost. They remember the location of reliable food sources and, while avoiding humans and other dangers, will often journey many hundreds of miles annually to get to a treasured food source.

Step-for-step paths

Bears are creatures of habit. They like to visit the same areas daily and often follow the same paths en route. In regions where bear density is high, they wear trails along streams and through the woods. Pathways used for generations result in extraordinarily well-worn trails, some with a groove up to a foot deep.

It’s also common for bears to step into the tracks of other bears. Step-for-step paths indicate a favorite passage of many bears. Bears have scent glands in their feet, so as a bear moves, each step leaves a calling card. By stepping into the track of another bear, a new bear can cover the old scent with its own. In regions with high densities of bears, these step-for-step paths can be especially common.

Table of Contents

Bears—a lifelong affair

An eminent history

The bear family

Origins of the species

Species around the world

Black Bears

Brown Bears

Polar Bears

Is it a Black Bear or a Brown Bear?

Names of distinction

Sizes north to south

Considerations of weight

Life expectancy

Roaming the home range

Step-for-step paths

Scent marking

Claw scraping

Posturing to communicate

Expression of aggression

Congeniality

Not just smart—resourceful

Large skull and jaws

Claws and paws

Tiny tails

Snouts and scents

Fuzzy ears, sharp hearing

Sight, near and far

Strong, stout legs

Gait

Masters at running

Standing advantage

Tracks and trails

Silent travelers

Swimming trips

Climbing trees

Sleeping in trees

Daybed naps

Play fighting

Color palette

Furry coat

Hollow hair

Black Bear blaze

White, but not albino

Shedding

Potluck diet

Breeding time

Ready to mate

Unusual gestation

Birthing

Newborn and helpless

Eyes open

Mother’s milk

Nursing duty

Litter size

Family planning

A difficult beginning

Mixing up cubs

The miracle of hibernation

Den diversity

Preparing for winter

Emerging in spring

Cautionary measures

Respecting bears

Featured bears

Where to spot bears in the wild

About the author