Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 15, 2019

Giant Pandas: Facts About the Charismatic Black and White Bears

Giant pandas are bears that are native to China, where they are considered a national treasure. Despite their exalted status, giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) populations are vulnerable: fewer than 1,900 live in the wild, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo. About 300 live in zoos around the world. Size, habitat...

May 2, 2019

Ice Age Bear and Wolf-Like Creature Found in Underwater Mexican Cave

Divers excavating an underwater cave in Mexico have discovered the bones of giant meat eaters that lived there during the last ice age, a new study reported. The finding is remarkable, because few ancient animal remains survive in Mexico's hot, tropical climate. But these ancient beasts, the short-faced bear (Arctotherium...

Jul 17, 2019

Fugitive Bear Escapes Jail Cell, Scales 3 Electric Fences and Is Now on the Run

Deemed a danger to humans and wildlife, M49 was captured in the Trentino region of northern Italy on Sunday and placed in a high-security enclosure with other “so-called problem bears,” the Trentino Press Office said in a statement. But mere walls couldn't contain M49. Within hours, the bear had scaled...

Mar 14, 2020

Why do some men have red beards, but not red hair?

It's relatively rare to see a redhead — just 1% to 2% of humans are natural gingers. So, you might do a double-take if you see a man sporting a reddish or even a full-blown red beard, even though he is clearly not a carrot top. What's the science behind...

May 13, 2020

Did men's beards evolve to absorb a punch to the jaw?

Full, luxurious beards are a sight to behold, and they may also serve a practical purpose — softening the impact of a punch to the jaw. Throughout history, flowing beards have been celebrated by cultures around the world as an emblem of social dominance and virility, much like the flowing...

Sep 16, 2020

Cave bear mummy discovered in Siberia still has its internal organs, fur and black nose

Reindeer hunters in Siberia have unearthed the remains of an extinct ice age beast: a mummified cave bear — the only adult of its species ever discovered that still has intact soft tissues, including its fur and even its black nose, according to news reports. The hunters found the cave...

Sep 30, 2020

During Fat Bear Week, bears compete in a battle of the bulge

Bears are always large and in charge, but during September in southern Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve (KNPP), the brown bears that gather at Brooks River grow cartoonishly round, ushering in a magical time of year — Fat Bear Week. This annual tournament, which runs from today (Sept. 30)...

Oct 2, 2020

It's time to vote for the chonkiest bear in Katmai National Park

Looking for a distraction from the dumpster fire that is the 2020 election? Then this is your reminder to weigh in on a very different election: Choosing the chonkiest grizzly bear in Katmai National Park as part of Fat Bear Week.The annual competition allows internet users to select the heftiest...

Nov 10, 2020

Mama and baby bear shot to death aboard Russian nuclear submarine

A mother bear and her cub were shot and killed while trying to board a nuclear submarine in Russia, according to news reports. The sub was docked near the village of Rybachiy in Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, which has served as a submarine construction base since the 1960s. In a...

Apr 2, 2021

Mysterious brain infection makes bears act 'like friendly dogs'

A mysterious neurological disease in young Californian black bears (Ursus americanus) is making them behave like pet dogs, cozying up to humans in a friendly manner. Though it sounds cute, this abnormal behavior dramatically worsens the bears' chances of surviving in the wild. The bears, which are all around 1...

Apr 23, 2021

'Pizzly' bear hybrids are spreading across the Arctic thanks to climate change

Endangered polar bears are breeding with grizzly bears, creating hybrid “pizzly” bears, and it's being driven by climate change, scientists say. As the world warms and Arctic sea ice thins, starving polar bears are being driven ever further south, where they meet grizzlies, whose ranges are expanding northwards. And with...

Jun 22, 2021

Black bears: The most common bear in North America

American black bears (Ursus americanus), often simply called black bears, are the most common bears in North America. They live in northern Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Black bears are smaller than brown bears (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus), making them the smallest of the three species of...

Jul 8, 2021

Woman killed in unusual grizzly bear attack

Early Tuesday morning (July 6), a bear attacked and killed a woman while she was camping in western Montana. Local authorities are still searching for the animal. The attack took place near Ovando, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of the state capital Helena, according to KGVO News. A statement...

Aug 3, 2021

Scientists extract ancient DNA from 32,000-year-old bear skull

DNA extracted from a 32,500-year-old bear skull hints that ice age brown bears migrated to Honshu, Japan's largest island and lived near present-day Tokyo before eventually dying out. Today, Japan's only brown bears (Ursus arctos) live in Hokkaido, the northernmost island in the Japanese archipelago. Evidence suggests that the ancestors...

Oct 18, 2021

Hungry grizzly bear photo-bombs camera trap in award-winning photo

A grizzly bear attacked a photographer's camera and ended up starring in a grisly photo that has won the photographer an award. Zack Clothier, a professional photographer based in Montana, set up a camera trap pointing at an elk carcass hoping to get some shots of scavenging wildlife. He returned...