Bears are mammals whose near relatives are dogs and wolves.

There are eight kinds of living bear, widely scattered over both the northern and southern continents.

Their large bodies help them to keep warm in cold winters. Their fur (hair) is long, and this traps air, which insulates them from the cold of winter and the warmth of summer.

The bears that are best known have very specialised feeding habits, which is why they are the most threatened. The polar bear hunts on the edge of arctic ice, while the panda eats a special variety of bamboo in the mountains of China.

The other bears, like the black bear and the larger brown bear (often also called a grizzly bear), will eat a wide variety of meat and plant materials. They will even eat human food. This makes them omnivores. That is why they are still numerous.

Bears live on their own except when mating or when the female has cubs.

People often think of them as nocturnal (active at night) but they are actually active by day. They are simply very shy and keep clear of people. We often see them at night because bears come closer to human food supplies in the dark when there are fewer people about.

Bears have very good sense of smell, they can run fast, climb trees and swim across rivers.

Many bears that live in cold places hibernate over winter. Bears den in caves and burrows.