Bears: Black, Brown & Polar Bears (Wildlife Appreciation) - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Naturalist, wildlife photographer, and writer Stan Tekiela is the author of more than 175 field guides, nature books, children’s books, wildlife audio CDs, puzzles, and playing cards, presenting many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, trees, wildflowers, and cacti in the United States. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural History from the University of Minnesota and as an active professional naturalist for more than 25 years, Stan studies and photographs wildlife throughout the United States and Canada. He has received various national and regional awards for his books and photographs. Also a well-known columnist and radio personality, his syndicated column appears in more than 25 newspapers, and his wildlife programs are broadcast on a number of Midwest radio stations. Stan can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

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ORIGINS OF THE SPECIES

Our current-day bears descended from a group of small tree-climbing carnivorous animals. The earliest bears, from about 40 million years ago, were the size of small dogs. Panda Bears were the first to diverge, originating in central Asia about 20 million years ago.

The first bears appeared in what is now known as North America approximately 5 million years ago. A group known as True Bears, the ancestors of today’s bears, developed around 3.5 million years ago. Black Bears, as we know them today, became a distinct species about 2.5 million years ago. Brown Bears, Polar Bears and others came later, beginning around 1 million to 600,000 years ago. Relatively speaking, bear species are not very old, as many modern bird species go back much further in time. Nonetheless, bear species have done well over the millennia.

SPECIES AROUND THE WORLD

Bears are some of the most widely distributed land animals in the world. Although historically there were many hundreds of bear species around the world, the eight species in existence today are found in 65 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.