Bear

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/bear

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Family Ursidae
2. What is the ecological role?Act as seed dispersers, predators, and scavengers, influencing ecosystem structure and function
3. What kinds of bears live in different parts of the world?Bears live in many places like the Arctic tundra, forests, mountains, and even tropical cloud forests. Some examples are the polar bear in the Arctic, brown bears in North America and Eurasia, black bears in North America, the spectacled bear in the Andes, and the giant panda in China.
4. What do bears usually eat?Most bears are opportunistic omnivores, eating berries, roots, nuts, insects, fish, and sometimes larger animals. Polar bears mainly eat seals, while giant pandas eat a lot of bamboo.

Ursidae: The biological family encompassing all extant bear species, characterized by large bodies and plantigrade locomotion.
Hibernation: A physiological state of dormancy during winter, involving reduced metabolic rate and body temperature to conserve energy.
Habitat Fragmentation: The process by which large, continuous habitats are broken into smaller, isolated patches, impacting species survival.