What are Some Different Types of Bears?
Bears, classified in family Ursidae, are doglike carnivorans characterized by large size, stocky legs, five nonretractile claws, shaggy hair, a large snout, and omnivorous diets. There are eight surviving species of bears: the Giant Panda (a vegetarian), the Spectacled Bear (a relatively small bear native to western South America), the Brown Bear (the most familiar bear), the American Black Bear (somewhat smaller than the Brown Bear), the Polar Bear (one of the largest extant land carnivores), the Asiatic Black Bear (closely related to the American Black Bear), the Sloth Bear (an arboreal bear that lives in lowland forests on the Indian subcontinent), and the Sun Bear (the smallest bear, with short hair, that lives in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia).
