Amazing white-breasted bear that spends the winter in a hollow on a tree

If a clumsy brown bear crawls out of the den in the spring, then the Ussuri bear neatly descends from the tree. After all, this amazing representative of the bear hibernates exclusively in hollows, it is distinguished by agility and grace. True, such a narrow "specialization" has led some bears to the brink of extinction, because where uncontrolled logging is carried out, few people think that the animals will have no place to winter.

As with many species whose range covers a vast region, this bear has several names. The Himalayan bear, the Ussuri bear, the Balochistan white-breasted bear, just the white-breasted bear, the black bear and the wood bear - and this is not the whole list of names of the beast. This interesting species can be found in the mountains of Central Asia, in the forest sparsely populated corners of China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East.

Habitat of a white-breasted bear

The size of this bear is not as large as that of a white or grizzly bear, and the largest males reach a length of 1.5-1.7 meters. For this reason, he cannot compete for food with a brown bear, with which he shares part of the range. In any battle with his formidable neighbor, the wood bear invariably loses. The white-breasted bear eats plant foods to a greater extent. The inhabitant of coniferous and mixed forests loves pine nuts, berries, young shoots. But he rarely goes hunting, diluting his diet with protein foods due to falling or gapeous small animals.

Separately, it is worth describing the relationship of white-breasted bears with trees. Natural dexterity and low weight allow these species to easily climb trees. And if the brown cubs, having matured, can no longer climb a tree, then the white-breasted ones use this skill until old age. On a tree, they find shelter for their hibernation. As a rule, deciduous trees - old poplars and lindens act as a bedroom. But even in summer, bears can often be seen on trees, where they seek food or wait for danger.

Unfortunately, these bears are very sensitive not only to massive deforestation, but also to rational forest management. The fact is that with legal logging, trees are cut selectively, mostly ripe and overripe. And this is precisely the very old trees in which there are hollows suitable for wintering.