Interesting Facts...

• In 1902, U.S.  President Theodore Roosevelt, also known as Teddy Roosevelt, was out hunting. He came across a bear cub that would have been a great hunting trophy but he chose to let the bear live. (Actually, people brought it to him and he refused to shoot it.) The story spread quickly and the Teddy Bear came to be!
• Other famous bears are… Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, Yogi Bear & Boo Boo, Care bears, Smokey the Bear, Fozzie Bear (from The Muppet Show), The three Bears (friends of Goldilocks), Gummi bears, Rupert, Corduroy, Little John (from Disney’s Robin Hood cartoon) and the Berenstain Bears.
• Baloo, from the Jungle Book movie is a Sloth bear.
• Koalas look like they could belong to the bear family and are often called bears, but they are, in fact, marsupials.
• In some Asian countries where traditional medicine is still practiced (that means using roots, leaves, animal parts, etc. instead of pills for healing) the bear gall bladder is more valuable than gold!  Sadly, this has taken a toll on the Sloth and Asiatic bear populations and has made them an endangered species
• Even though bears and pigs are NOT related, the same names, “boar” for the males and “sow” for the females are used.
• I know, we are talking about bears, not birds but did you know that some species of bears make nests...in trees!  Not all bears but many including Asiatic bears, sun bears, spectacled bears and even black bears.  They bend down tree branches and make sitting areas that look much bird nests. Some bears will sleep in these nests while others will just hide or eat in them.
• What do bears and farmers have in common?  They both spread seeds and plant things!  As you know bears eat a lot of berries and acorns.  After eating, the food goes through their digestive system.  The nutrients stay in their bodies to give them energy, while the waste, or seeds, becomes “scat”.  (Scat is a fancy name for bear poop.)  The seeds in the scat will begin to sprout and grow into new plants.  Amazing!

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