Braunbär Ursus arctos (Linné, 1758)
English: Brown Bear; French: L'ours brun; Albanian: Arusha; Balti: Drengmo; Bulgarian: Metschka; Chinese: Zong-Xong; Chipewyan: sask'os; Cree: muskwa; Croatian: medvjed; Czech: medved (brtnik); Dogrip: sah; Estonian: Karu; Finnish: Karhu; Greek: Arkouda; Hindi: Lei-bhalu, Barf-ka-rinch; Hungarian: Medve; Iranian: Khers; Italian: Orso bruno; Japanese: Ezo-higuma; Kashmiri: Kunia-haput; Korean: Bul gom; Ladaki: Drin-mor; Lettish: Lacis; Loucheux: shoh tsik; Lithuanian: Rudasis lokys; Mongol: Baawgai; Montenigrin: mecka; Navajo: Shash Yishtxizh; Nepali: Dab, Rato Bhalu; Norwegian: Bjorn; Pashto: Sur Melow; Polish: Niedzwiedz; Romanian: Urs; Russian: Burij Medved; Serb: medved; Slova-kian: medved (hnedy); Slovenian: medved; Swedish: Brunbjörn; South Slavey: Sah; Tibetan: Thom mukpo, Tom khaina; Spanish: Oso; Turkish: Ayi, Boz Ayi; Urdu: Bhora Rich, Bhora Bhalu.
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Former distribution: Throughout the northern hemisphere of the Palaearctic and Nearctic; not in the desert areas of North Africa such as Tunisia, Libya and Egypt; also not in the eastern States of Canada and USA.
Present distribution: Palaearctic: In restricted areas of Norway, Sweden, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, CSSR, USSR, Turkey, Iran, Mongolia, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal, China, Korea, Japan. Nearctic: Alaska, north and north-west Canada, Rocky Mountains in the USA and northern Mexico.
Behaviour: Preferred habitat: woodlands of all landscapes. They usually hunt singly, except when the females are accompanied by their young: active at twilight and by day; they are omnivorous, eating plant material such as roots, leaves, grass and fruits; also insects, small and big game; sometimes carrion, and fish if available. They hibernate.
Population status: In many countries endangered; in others stable.
Brief notes:
Body weight: 100-800 kg
Head and body length: 150-280 cm
Tail length: 6-14 cm
Shoulder height: 90-150 cm
Gestation period: 230 days
Maximum age: Up to 47 years
Trophy: Skull record CIC: 68.30 points, Romania 1984, N. CEAUCESCU; average 50 points. SCI: 27 score, 1984 Spain, Dr. MARCIAL G. SEQUEIRA; average 17 score. B&C: 30 12/16 score, 1952 USA, Alaska, ROY LINDSAY; average 28 score.
Hunting methods: Stalking, on a kill; with dogs and traps, and driving in winter.
Remarks: The geographic variations are enormous, in weight, colour and size. According to HEPTNER (1947) 5 geographical regions should be defined for ursus arctos acc. to CIC Symposium "Brown Bear", 1974, Romania.
1. Group arctos - the European-Siberian Bears
2. Group syriacus - the Near-east Bears
3. Group piscatus - the Far-east Bears
4. Group pruniosus - the Tibetan Bears
5. Group grizzli - the North American Bears
Subspecies: Palaearctic: 8
1. European-Siberian Brown Bear Ursus a. arctos Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, CSSR, European and West Siberian USSR. Estimated numbers: Norway: 230; Sweden: 800; Finland: 470; France: 20; Spain: 199; Italy: 100; Yugoslavia: 2600; Albania: 300; Greece: 20-30; Bulgaria: 600; Romania: 6000; Poland: 70-75; CSSR: 440; USSR: 15 000. Endangered in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Poland.
2. East Siberian Brown Bear Ursus a. yenisensis East Siberia from the Jenisei to Transbaikalia, east to the Stanowoj mountains, Lena and Kolyma basin to Jakutia; Altai and northern Mongolia included. Estimated numbers: Mongolia: 800; USSR: appr. 100 000. Trophy: Record SCI: 24 9/16 score, 1977 USSR, I rkutsk, ROBERT MATYAS; average 17 score. CIC: 88.79 points, 1974 Mongolia.
3. Caucasian Brown Bear Ursus a. meridionalis Caucasian Mountains, south to northern Armenia. Estimated numbers: 3000.
4. Syrian Brown Bear Ursus a. syriacus Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Iran, western Himalaya, USSR in the Pamir, Altai and Tienshan regions, Grusinia and Azerbaijan, rare in Turkmeniya, Iraq and Afghanistan. Estimated numbers: No records; stable in Iran and Turkey, in the USSR and all other countries endangered.
5. Kashmir or Tienshan Brown Bear Ursus a. isabellinus Kashmir, Pamir-Altai-System, Tienshan in the USSR, Punjab, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan to Nepal. Estimated numbers: No records, endangered, also in USSR.
6. Kamchatka Brown Bear Ursus a. piscator USSR: region of Anadyr, Kamchatka, northern Kuril Islands, Karaginski Islands, coastal area of the Ochotski Sea, south to the Stanowoj Mountains and the Shantar Islands. Outside the USSR: St. Lawrence Islands. Estimated numbers: No records; Kamchatka partly endangered; stable in all other areas.
7. Ussuri Brown Bear Ursus a. lasiotus Ussuri region, Sachalin, Priamurje north to the Shantar Islands, Stanowoj Mountains, southern Kuril Islands, north-eastern Heilongjiang (Manchuria), Korea and Hokkaido in Japan. Estimated numbers: Japan: 200, endangered; in all other areas stable.
8. Tibet Brown Bear Ursus a. pruniosus North-west China in Gansu (Kansu), north Sichuan (north Szetchuan), Xizang (Tibet), Mongolia, south from Endrengiyn Nuruu and Shan (Cham) in the eastern Himalayas. Estimated numbers: Mongolia: 20, endangered; in China unknown, stable?
Subspecies: Nearctic: 2
9. Alaska or Kodiak Brown Bear Ursus a. middendorffi Coastal areas of south Alaska, from the Alaska peninsula to Dixon Straight and Kodiak Island. Stable.
Trophy: Skull record SCI: 29 4/16 score, 1983 Alaska, MICHAEL F. SHORT; average: 25 score.
10. Grizzly Ursus a. horribilis Alaska, outside the area of the Kodiak Brown Bear, in north and north-west Canada; (from the Yukon territory between the coast of the Arctic and the Big Slave Lake). In the USA: the Rocky Mountains (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado). In Alberta as we ll as in Sonora, Mexico. Estimated numbers: Alaska: stable; Canada: 500-1000; endangered in the Yukon Territory; Alberta: decreasing; British Columbia: 5-10 000; Mexico: 12, endangered; USA: stable. Trophy: Skull record SCI: 27 12/16 score, 1981 Alaska, USA, ENRICO CIABURRI; average 23 score. B&C: 27 2/16 score, 1970 B.C. Canada, JAMES G. SHELTON; average 24 score.
Remarks: Only these two subspecies are listed for North America. The classification of 84 subspecies of the American Brown Bear (Merriam 1918) cannot be considered as correct.
Bilder:
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