Polar Bears: Polar bears are extremely intelligent; having adapted behaviour for catching seals and smashing open ice blocks to remove frozen fish. They have even been observed piling up plastic piping just to knock it down later for the fun of it. Contrary to popular belief, polar bears have never been seen covering their nose whilst stalking prey.
Grizzly Bears: Grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bear, living in western North America and Canada in a variety of landscapes, such as boreal forests, alpine forests and meadows. With similar colourings, grizzlies are distinguishable from black bear by the distinctive hump on their shoulders. Males have been reportedly weighed at 680 kilos, although they are usually between 180 and 360 kilos and females can be half the size.
Sun Bears: Named after the crest on their chests, sun bears are the smallest of the bear species and are totally unique in that as well as being adapted to jungle living, they are completely tree-dwelling. These bears are so rarely seen in the wild, that little is known about exactly how many are left in the wild, but we do know they are drastically decreasing along with their habitat.
Spirit Bears: Bright white against the dense green forests on the coast of British Columbia, these ‘spirit’ bears are a sight to behold. Watching these beautiful creatures swiping fish from spawning streams with their strong jaws and claws is an incredible sight, and in fact, spirit bears appear more successful than the blacks at this - perhaps owing to their colour being less obvious to the fish below the water.
Sloth Bears: Compared to the brown and black bears found throughout Eurasia and North America, sloth bears are lankier, shaggier and can be easily identified by their fluffy mane as well as their long, sickle-like claws and elongated lower lip, which they use to hunt for insects. They have a keen sense of smell, as well as near-sight similar to that of humans.
