We had a bear roaming around our neighborhood at the beginning of October and decided it was a good idea to learn about bears. We wanted to know what type of bear it was and how dangerous it might be.
First, we decided to research what bears live in our area. We discovered that the black bear and the grizzly bear both live here, but the the black bear is more common.
Second, we researched their body characteristics and habits. This is what we found:
Grizzly Bear:
- Dished face
- Ears are small
- Shoulder hump (a hump that is between the shoulders)
- 2 - 4" claws (we think that is amazing!)
- Toes are all aligned (you can draw a line between the pads and the toes and the line would be straight)
- Fur color is typically brown but can appear white or blonde tipped, or "grizzled", thus the name grizzly bear
- Tend to be aggressive and will defend themselves, especially a sow with cubs
- Can climb trees but are not good climbers
- Gives birth in its sleep
- Babies are born blind, hairless, and toothless
- Litter size is typically a pair of cubs once every 2-3 years
- Will eat berries, nuts, fish, vegetation, and baby elk and moose if they can, carion (rotting animal flesh), and will easily develop a liking for human trash
- It is a subspecies of the brown bear
Black Bear:
- Face is straight from brow to nose
- Ears are larger in proportion to its head
- 1 - 2" claws
- Four of the claws are aligned with the thumb further back on the paw
-Fur colour can be black, blue-black, dark brown, cinnamon, blonde, and sometimes even white
- Can be timid and a sow will send cubs up a tree for protection over showing aggression on the ground
- Excellent climbers
- Babies are born blind, toothless, but with a light coat of fur
- Litter size is typically 5 cubs once every 2-3 years
- Will eat berries, nuts, fish, vegetation, carion (rotting animal flesh), and will easily develop a liking for human trash
Third, we wrote our research report. Writing the paper was kind of boring, but not very. After our research paper, we went to a local museum and saw a stuffed grizzly bear and a black bear skin nailed to a tree (it was funny looking!). The grizzly's claws were bigger than we thought they would be!
Fourth, we wrote a collaborative story. This was an awesome activity! Here is the story for you to enjoy:
It was a cloudy and dark day. I was wandering through the forest. I heard a distant roar and thought to myself, “I'd better watch out because there might be a bear.” I took out my bear spray and was scared. I headed off in one direction not knowing what direction I was headed. Was I headed north? South? I did not know but I trekked on. Not knowing where I was going, I took a couple more steps and made camp. I set up my tent and then went to gather wood for a big, warm fire. While I was out collecting wood, I heard the roar again. It seemed to be much closer now. I looked around, not knowing if the animal was headed my way. Or was I headed toward him? I went back to camp with my bundle of wood and built my fire, struck the match and lit the wood. I stayed close to the fire knowing that animals do not like the flames. As I warmed my dinner over the open flames, I heard the cracking of wood and the wrestling of trees nearby. Was the animal headed toward my camp? I was scared. I looked around and saw a bear. I was sweating. I was terrified. Then the bear smiled at me. I smiled back. I said, “Hello,” not knowing what else to do. The bear waddled toward my fire, and sniffed my dinner as his stomach rumbled with hunger. I asked him if he was hungry and he said, “Yes.” I took out some meat and gave it to him. He said, “Thank you.” He gnawed on it happily. I grew tired so I got my pajamas on and returned to the fire to say goodnight to my new friend. I crawled into my warm sleeping bag, ready for a good night's sleep. My eyes were heavy, and just as I began to doze off the bear knocked at my tent door. Initially it scared me, but then I realized it was just the bear. He looked tired, so I let him in my tent. We both had a great night's sleep! (without snoring)
the end
Last but not least, we painted our own cartoon bears! We used red, yellow, blue, and white tempera paint, which was a good challenge. We used red, blue, yellow to create brown, and red and blue to, of course, create purple. This was a fun art project!
First, we decided to research what bears live in our area. We discovered that the black bear and the grizzly bear both live here, but the the black bear is more common.
Second, we researched their body characteristics and habits. This is what we found:
Grizzly Bear:
- Dished face
- Ears are small
- Shoulder hump (a hump that is between the shoulders)
- 2 - 4" claws (we think that is amazing!)
- Toes are all aligned (you can draw a line between the pads and the toes and the line would be straight)
- Fur color is typically brown but can appear white or blonde tipped, or "grizzled", thus the name grizzly bear
- Tend to be aggressive and will defend themselves, especially a sow with cubs
- Can climb trees but are not good climbers
- Gives birth in its sleep
- Babies are born blind, hairless, and toothless
- Litter size is typically a pair of cubs once every 2-3 years
- Will eat berries, nuts, fish, vegetation, and baby elk and moose if they can, carion (rotting animal flesh), and will easily develop a liking for human trash
- It is a subspecies of the brown bear
Black Bear:
- Face is straight from brow to nose
- Ears are larger in proportion to its head
- 1 - 2" claws
- Four of the claws are aligned with the thumb further back on the paw
-Fur colour can be black, blue-black, dark brown, cinnamon, blonde, and sometimes even white
- Can be timid and a sow will send cubs up a tree for protection over showing aggression on the ground
- Excellent climbers
- Babies are born blind, toothless, but with a light coat of fur
- Litter size is typically 5 cubs once every 2-3 years
- Will eat berries, nuts, fish, vegetation, carion (rotting animal flesh), and will easily develop a liking for human trash
Third, we wrote our research report. Writing the paper was kind of boring, but not very. After our research paper, we went to a local museum and saw a stuffed grizzly bear and a black bear skin nailed to a tree (it was funny looking!). The grizzly's claws were bigger than we thought they would be!
Fourth, we wrote a collaborative story. This was an awesome activity! Here is the story for you to enjoy:
It was a cloudy and dark day. I was wandering through the forest. I heard a distant roar and thought to myself, “I'd better watch out because there might be a bear.” I took out my bear spray and was scared. I headed off in one direction not knowing what direction I was headed. Was I headed north? South? I did not know but I trekked on. Not knowing where I was going, I took a couple more steps and made camp. I set up my tent and then went to gather wood for a big, warm fire. While I was out collecting wood, I heard the roar again. It seemed to be much closer now. I looked around, not knowing if the animal was headed my way. Or was I headed toward him? I went back to camp with my bundle of wood and built my fire, struck the match and lit the wood. I stayed close to the fire knowing that animals do not like the flames. As I warmed my dinner over the open flames, I heard the cracking of wood and the wrestling of trees nearby. Was the animal headed toward my camp? I was scared. I looked around and saw a bear. I was sweating. I was terrified. Then the bear smiled at me. I smiled back. I said, “Hello,” not knowing what else to do. The bear waddled toward my fire, and sniffed my dinner as his stomach rumbled with hunger. I asked him if he was hungry and he said, “Yes.” I took out some meat and gave it to him. He said, “Thank you.” He gnawed on it happily. I grew tired so I got my pajamas on and returned to the fire to say goodnight to my new friend. I crawled into my warm sleeping bag, ready for a good night's sleep. My eyes were heavy, and just as I began to doze off the bear knocked at my tent door. Initially it scared me, but then I realized it was just the bear. He looked tired, so I let him in my tent. We both had a great night's sleep! (without snoring)
the end
Last but not least, we painted our own cartoon bears! We used red, yellow, blue, and white tempera paint, which was a good challenge. We used red, blue, yellow to create brown, and red and blue to, of course, create purple. This was a fun art project!
After all our studies and seeing our bear one more time, we decided we had a black bear roaming around our neighborhood. It's been a couple weeks since we saw it last. At least it's not a grizzly!