Bear Myths vs. Facts

Can you outrun a bear? Are black bears always black? Here are 100 things people believe about bears: 41 are myths and 59 are facts.

Test yourself first

Some of you think I can't run downhill. Bold of you.

Size & Strength

• FACT Bears are good swimmers.

  Polar bears are built for swimming and can cover long distances in Arctic waters, and brown and black bears swim across rivers and lakes.

• MYTH Bears can't run fast downhill.

  Bears can run as fast as a racehorse, both uphill and downhill. Running away in any direction is a bad idea.

• MYTH Black bears are too heavy to run fast.

  Despite their chunky look, black bears can sprint at about 25 to 30 mph (40 to 48 km/h) over short distances.

• FACT Bears walk on the soles of their feet, like people.

  Unlike dogs and cats, which walk on their toes, bears walk flat-footed on their soles. They can also stand up on their hind legs.

• MYTH Bears can pull their claws in, like cats.

  Unlike cats, bears have non-retractable claws: they can't pull them in. Those claws are great for climbing, digging and grabbing food.

• FACT American black bears are the smallest bears in North America.

  North America has three bear species: polar bears, brown bears and American black bears. Black bears are the smallest of the three.

• MYTH Giant panda cubs are born black and white.

  Newborn giant pandas are pink, hairless and blind, about the size of a stick of butter. They're about 1/900th the size of their mother.

• FACT Giant pandas have a thumb-like bone that helps them hold bamboo.

  Pandas have a "pseudo thumb": an enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad that helps them grip bamboo.

• FACT One of the biggest bears that ever lived was related to the spectacled bear.

  The giant short-faced bear, an extinct Ice Age giant and one of the largest bears ever, was a relative of today's Andean (spectacled) bear.

• FACT Polar bear paws have built-in non-slip treads.

  The pads of a polar bear's paws are covered in small bumps that grip the ice, and tufts of fur between the toes help keep their feet warm.

• FACT Polar bears use their front paws like paddles when they swim.

  A polar bear's big front paws work like paddles, and its hind paws act like rudders to steer.

• MYTH Polar bears struggle more with the cold than with overheating.

  Two layers of fur keep polar bears so warm that adult males can quickly overheat when they run. That's one reason they usually walk slowly.

• FACT Male polar bears can be about twice the size of females.

  Adult females usually weigh about 330 to 650 pounds (150 to 290 kg), while big males can be roughly twice as heavy.

• MYTH A grizzly's shoulder hump is a store of fat.

  The hump is a big mass of muscle. Together with long claws, it makes grizzlies great at digging up roots and rodents.

• FACT Grizzly bears have longer claws than black bears.

  Grizzly front claws are about 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long and good for digging. Black bear claws are shorter and more curved, which is better for climbing trees.

• FACT Kodiak bears from Alaska are among the biggest bears in the world.

  Kodiak brown bears live on islands off southern Alaska. They are some of the largest brown bears in the world, comparable in size to polar bears.

• FACT Black bear claw marks can stay on trees for years.

  When black bears climb smooth-barked trees like beech, the claw marks they leave can still be seen many years later.

Senses & Smarts

• FACT A bear's sense of smell is better than a bloodhound's.

  A black bear's nose is estimated to be about seven times more sensitive than a bloodhound's. In the right conditions, it may smell food up to 2 miles (3 km) away.

• FACT Polar bears find seals hidden under the snow by smell.

  Ringed seals rest in dens hidden under snow on the sea ice. Polar bears walk across the wind to catch their scent and track them down.

• FACT Bears are thought to have one of the best noses of any land animal.

  Bears are believed to have the keenest sense of smell of any land mammal. It's so good that it's hard to measure.

• FACT Sloth bears can close their nostrils.

  Sloth bears can shut their nostrils completely, which keeps dust and insects out while they raid termite nests and beehives.

• FACT Spectacled bears are among the most "talkative" bears.

  Andean bears are thought to use vocal communication more than any other bear except the giant panda. They even make cooing sounds.

Food

• MYTH Bears raid beehives only for the honey.

  Bears also eat the bee brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), which is full of protein. Often that's what they're really after, not just the honey.

• MYTH Black bears eat mostly meat.

  Black bears are omnivores that eat mostly plants: grasses, fruit, berries, acorns and nuts. Insects and dead animals make up the rest.

• FACT Some grizzly bears climb mountains to eat moths.

  In the Northern Rockies, grizzlies dig through high mountain rock slopes for fatty army cutworm moths. One study estimated a bear can eat up to 40,000 moths a day.

• FACT Before winter, a black bear can eat up to 20,000 calories a day.

  In fall, bears go into a feeding frenzy called hyperphagia to build up fat for the winter. Wildlife agencies estimate up to about 20,000 calories a day.

• FACT In fall, some bears spend up to 20 hours a day looking for food.

  During hyperphagia, black bears may forage for up to 20 hours a day to fatten up before their winter rest.

• MYTH Grizzly bears are strict meat-eaters.

  Grizzlies eat almost anything, from dandelions to ants. One analysis of grizzly scat in Yellowstone found 266 different kinds of plants and animals.

• MYTH Polar bears mostly eat fish.

  Polar bears live mostly on seals, especially ringed and bearded seals. Seal fat is what keeps them going in the Arctic.

• FACT Sloth bears suck up termites like a vacuum cleaner.

  Sloth bears are missing their top front teeth, which leaves a gap they use to suck termites and ants out of their nests.

• MYTH Giant pandas spend only a couple of hours a day eating.

  Giant pandas spend about 12 to 14 hours a day eating. Bamboo isn't very nutritious, so they need a lot of it.

• FACT A giant panda can go through more than 80 pounds of bamboo in a day.

  Giant pandas browse through about 80 to 100 pounds (36 to 45 kg) of bamboo a day, and they can still be picky about which parts they eat.

• MYTH Pandas in zoos eat nothing but bamboo.

  Bamboo is the main course, but zoo pandas also get special nutritious biscuits, carrots, sweet potatoes and apples.

• FACT Wild giant panda mothers can go a month without eating after giving birth.

  Right after birth, a panda mother focuses on holding and protecting her tiny cub. Scientists have seen wild mothers go as long as a month without eating or drinking.

• FACT There's a yearly online contest where people vote for the fattest bear.

  It's called Fat Bear Week. Katmai National Park in Alaska runs it each fall for the brown bears that fatten up on salmon along the Brooks River.

• MYTH Spectacled bears eat mostly meat.

  Spectacled (Andean) bears eat mainly plants, especially fruit and bromeliads. They only occasionally eat small animals.

• FACT A polar bear can eat over 100 pounds of seal blubber in one sitting.

  Polar bears can eat more than 100 pounds (45 kg) of blubber at once. Fat-rich meals are how they survive the Arctic.

• FACT Some polar bears can go months without eating.

  When the sea ice melts and seals are hard to reach, polar bears live off their fat. Pregnant females in Hudson Bay have been found to fast for up to eight months.

• FACT Outside the fruiting season, insects make up almost all of a sloth bear's diet.

  Termites and ants are a year-round staple for sloth bears. Outside the fruit season, insects make up about 95 percent of what they eat.

Sleep

• MYTH Bears sleep so deeply in winter that they can't wake up.

  Black bears spend the winter in a lighter state than true hibernation, so they can wake up quickly if disturbed.

• MYTH All bears hibernate in winter.

  Sun bears and sloth bears live where food is available all year and don't hibernate. Giant pandas don't either, and among polar bears usually only pregnant females den for the winter.

• FACT Some bears can go for months without eating, drinking or going to the bathroom.

  During their winter rest, black bears can go for months without eating, drinking, peeing or pooping.

• FACT Black bear cubs are born blind and without teeth.

  Black bear cubs are born in the winter den, tiny, blind and toothless, and they nurse until green plants appear in spring.

• MYTH Bears always spend the winter in caves.

  Black bears often use tree cavities, burrows, rock crevices or spaces under fallen trees, while grizzlies usually dig their own dens.

• FACT Bears mate in summer, but their cubs don't start growing until much later.

  Black bears mate in summer, but thanks to "delayed implantation" the fertilized egg pauses and only attaches and starts to grow later in the year, around the time the mother settles into her winter den.

• FACT Black bear mothers give birth during their winter rest.

  Black bear cubs are born in the den in winter and nurse there while their mother rests, until spring brings fresh green plants.

• MYTH Bears lose most of their muscle strength during their long winter rest.

  Black bears keep most of their muscle over winter. Researchers report they lose only about 10 to 20 percent of their strength over months of inactivity.

• FACT A black bear in its winter den still burns thousands of calories a day.

  While denning, a black bear uses about 4,000 calories a day, burning the fat it stored in the fall instead of eating.

• MYTH All polar bears hibernate through the winter.

  Males and non-pregnant females stay active and keep hunting all winter. Only pregnant females settle into snow dens to give birth.

• FACT A polar bear den can be much warmer inside than outside.

  Snow covers the den entrance, and the mother's body heat can keep it up to about 45°F (25°C) warmer than the outside air.

• FACT Polar bear cubs spend their first few months inside a snow den.

  Cubs are born in the den in winter and stay there with their mother until around March, when they see sunlight for the first time.

• FACT In Yellowstone, female grizzlies without cubs spend about five months in their dens.

  Female grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone area that don't have cubs den for about five months on average.

• FACT A hibernating black bear's heart can slow to around 14 beats per minute.

  In a study of Alaskan black bears, heart rates dropped from about 55 beats per minute in summer to about 14 in mid-hibernation, sometimes with up to 20 seconds between beats.

• MYTH A bear's body temperature drops close to freezing in winter.

  Unlike small hibernators, black bears stay warm in winter. Their body temperature drops only a little, even though their metabolism slows to about a quarter of normal.

• MYTH Black bears are only active at night.

  Black bears can be active at night or during the day, depending on food and on how much they need to avoid people.

Species

• MYTH Koalas are bears.

  Koalas are marsupials, like kangaroos: their babies grow in a pouch. The "koala bear" name is just a mistake that stuck.

• MYTH American black bears are always black.

  Despite the name, American black bears can be brown, cinnamon, blond, gray and even white.

• FACT Giant pandas are true bears.

  Giant pandas belong to the bear family, Ursidae. They just eat a lot more bamboo than the rest of us.

• FACT There are eight species of bears in the world.

  American black, brown, polar, Asiatic black, sloth, sun and spectacled bears, plus the giant panda. That's the whole family.

• FACT Grizzly bears are a kind of brown bear.

  Grizzlies belong to the brown bear species, Ursus arctos. "Grizzly" is the common name for many of the brown bears in North America.

• MYTH Polar bears hunt penguins.

  Polar bears live in the Arctic, and wild penguins live almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. They never meet outside of zoos and cartoons.

• FACT The sun bear is the smallest bear species.

  Sun bears live in the forests of Southeast Asia and are the smallest of all bears. They also have a very long tongue for slurping insects and honey.

• FACT The spectacled bear is the only bear native to South America.

  Also called the Andean bear, it lives in the Andes. It's named for the pale markings around its eyes that can look like glasses.

• MYTH Red pandas are a kind of bear.

  Red pandas aren't bears. They have a family of their own and are only distantly related to giant pandas.

• FACT Polar bears have black skin under their white fur.

  Under all that fur, a polar bear's skin is black. Its fur hairs are actually transparent and only look white.

• FACT Sloth bear mothers carry their cubs on their backs.

  Unlike other bears, sloth bear mothers routinely carry their cubs around on their backs.

• MYTH Sloth bears are related to sloths.

  Sloth bears are true bears. The name comes from an early naturalist who thought the animal was related to sloths.

• FACT Spectacled bears build platforms in trees.

  Spectacled bears, also called Andean bears, build platforms and nests in trees to eat and sleep on.

• FACT Every spectacled bear has its own unique face markings.

  Each spectacled bear has its own pattern of cream markings on its head, throat and chest, a bit like a fingerprint. Scientists use them to tell bears apart.

• FACT The Asiatic black bear is also called the "moon bear."

  Nearly all Asiatic black bears have a cream-colored, crescent-shaped mark on the chest, which gives them the name "moon bear."

• MYTH Asiatic black bears are just American black bears living in Asia.

  They look similar, but they are separate species. Asiatic black bears have longer, shaggier fur and a crescent-shaped chest mark.

• FACT Sun bears have a light-colored mark on their chest.

  Like Asiatic black bears, sun bears have a cream-colored, crescent-shaped chest mark. That's why the two are often called moon bears and sun bears.

• FACT The teddy bear is named after a US president.

  In 1902, on a hunt in Mississippi, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree, calling it unsportsmanlike. A newspaper cartoon about it inspired a toy called "Teddy's bear."

• FACT Under US law, polar bears count as marine mammals.

  Polar bears are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, along with whales, seals, walruses and sea otters.

• MYTH Grizzly bears still live in the wild in California.

  A grizzly is on California's state flag, but American black bears are the only bear species found in California today.

• MYTH The easiest way to tell a black bear from a grizzly is its color.

  Black bears can be brown or blond, so color can fool you. Rangers say to look at body shape instead: grizzlies have a shoulder hump, black bears don't.

• FACT Wild polar bears live in only five countries.

  Polar bears live across five Arctic "polar bear nations": Canada, the United States (Alaska), Russia, Greenland (Kingdom of Denmark) and Norway.

• FACT Grizzly bears have a "dished" face profile.

  Seen from the side, a grizzly's face curves inward (concave), while a black bear's profile is straighter. It's one of the ways to tell them apart.

• MYTH There are fewer grizzlies around Yellowstone today than in the 1970s.

  The Greater Yellowstone grizzly population grew from an estimated 136 bears in 1975 to roughly 1,000 in recent years.

• FACT Black bears in the northeastern US are usually black.

  Black bears come in many colors across North America, from brown and cinnamon to blond, but in the Northeast they are typically black.

• MYTH Bears are more closely related to cats than to dogs.

  Bears belong to the "dog-like" group of carnivores (Caniformia), along with dogs, raccoons and seals. Cats are in the other group.

Safety

• MYTH You can outrun a bear if you sprint.

  Bears can run as fast as a racehorse, uphill and downhill. Running can also make a bear chase you, so never run from a bear.

• MYTH Climbing a tree is a good way to escape a bear.

  Both black bears and grizzlies can climb trees, and black bears are excellent climbers.

• MYTH Playing dead is the right move with any bear that attacks.

  Rangers advise playing dead in a defensive attack by a brown or grizzly bear, and fighting back if that attack keeps going. With a black bear, or any bear that attacks you in your tent, fight back.

• MYTH A bear standing on its hind legs is about to attack.

  A standing bear is usually just curious, trying to get a better look or smell. It is not a sign of aggression.

• FACT Bear spray works well at stopping aggressive bears.

  Used correctly, bear spray is highly successful at stopping aggressive or charging bears. It's a defensive tool, not a repellent: never spray it on yourself or your gear.

• FACT Making noise on the trail helps you avoid surprising a bear.

  Most bears avoid people when they hear them coming. Talking or calling out "Hey, bear!" now and then helps prevent surprise encounters.

• FACT Hiking in a group is safer in bear country than hiking alone.

  Groups are noisier and smellier, so bears notice them from farther away, and a group is more intimidating to a bear.

• FACT Bears that get used to human food can end up being killed.

  Bears that learn to find food in trash or bird feeders keep coming back and can become dangerous, and some have to be put down. That's why wildlife officers say, "A fed bear is a dead bear."

• MYTH Screaming is the best way to scare off a bear that's close to you.

  Rangers advise talking to the bear in a calm, low voice. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack, and a high-pitched squeal can sound like prey.

• MYTH Most bears are looking for a chance to attack people.

  Most bears avoid people if they hear them coming and just want to be left alone. Attacks are rare.

• FACT A mother bear is especially dangerous if she thinks her cubs are in danger.

  Never get between a mother bear and her cubs. The chance of an attack goes up sharply if she sees you as a threat to them.

• FACT Sloth bears are more likely to stand their ground than run from a threat.

  American and Asiatic black bears usually flee or climb a tree when threatened, but a sloth bear is more likely to stand its ground.

• MYTH A charging bear will always follow through with an attack.

  Bears sometimes "bluff charge": they run at you and then turn away at the last second. Stay calm and stand your ground.

• MYTH Dropping your backpack is a good way to distract a bear.

  Keep your pack on. It can protect your back and keeps the bear from getting your food, which would only encourage it.

• MYTH Imitating bear sounds can help calm a bear down.

  Never imitate bear sounds or make a high-pitched squeal. Talk to the bear calmly in a low voice so it knows you're a human.

• FACT If a bear is standing still, you should back away slowly and sideways.

  Moving away slowly and sideways lets you keep an eye on the bear without tripping, and it doesn't look threatening to the bear.

• MYTH It's okay to walk up close to a calm bear for a photo.

  National parks such as Lassen Volcanic ask you to stay at least 100 yards (90 m) from bears. Use binoculars or a zoom lens instead.

• FACT In Yellowstone, most bear-caused injuries come from grizzlies, not black bears.

  Most injuries in Yellowstone are caused by grizzlies, usually in surprise encounters with mothers and cubs in the backcountry. Carrying bear spray and making noise helps.

• MYTH Black bears are usually aggressive toward people.

  It is extremely rare for black bears to be aggressive toward humans. Most would rather avoid you.