Aspects of evolution and adaptation in American black bear (Ursus americanus Pallus) and brown and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos Linne.) of North

• Main Author: Stephen Herrero
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1972
• Subjects: Tundra; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.577.8159; http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin/tpl/Downloads/URSUS/Vol_2/Herrero.pdf

Certain behavioural, ecological, morphological, and physiological differences between grizzly/brown bears and black bears a re related to the different habitats favored by each species. It is suggested that care of black bear cubs and hence reproductive success for black bears is tied to the forest biome, and that the grizzly/brown bear in branching out from the forest onto non-treed a reas such a s tundra, grasslands and prairie edges, gained rich new food sources, but also became more aggressive than the black bear, a behavioural adaptation to cub care in this new habitat. Few persons need a scientist to tell them that black bears differ from brown and grizzly bears. Still there a r e levels of understanding of differences a s is illustrated in the following story. A young national park naturalist, fresh from training, was lecturing to a crowd of tourists, discussing the differences between black bears and grizzly bears. The naturalist said that a good way to tell the species of a given bear was to sneak up on the bear in question and kick i t in the rump, then to immediately