The Secret Life of Bears: Eight Species, One Body Plan

Brown bear standing in a river — A brown bear. Bears are not true hibernators — they enter a lighter winter dormancy. Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa — CC BY-SA 3.0

Bears look like oversized dogs until you watch one den for five months without eating, drinking or waking. Here is how eight species turn one body plan into a panda, an Arctic hunter and everything between.

American black bear climbing a tree — Black bears are expert climbers, unusual among large carnivores. Photo: Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photography credits: Yathin S Krishnappa (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons