Andy Collados

Historical evolution of the Bear

Good morning to everyone. There’s a topic I have always been interested in: the historical
evolution of animals. Today I would like to share some of this information with you about the
Bear species. I will start off with a brief introduction on phylogeny and the ancestors and
similar animals to the bear. I will also talk about the species in the present, going through the
subspecies. Finally, I’ll discuss the future of these animals. So without further ado, let’s start.

There is a well-known concept in zoology that is crucial to the understanding of animals

So where does the bear come from? Thanks to phylogeny, we know now that the bear is part
of a broad group of animals called Caniformia, related for their canine resemblance. This
group is divided into narrower and narrower subcategories, following the path of Arctoidea,
Ursoidea and, finally, Ursidae to reach the bear family, where we can find even more
categories to organise the different types of bears that exist and have existed.

Of course, the Ursidae is not the only species that comes from the Caniformia. As I
commented before, the Caniformia are those animals that have canine-like features. This,
obviously, includes the Canidae family. To this family belong the species of dogs, wolves,
foxes, jackals and coyotes. Dogs and wolves have more often than not been compared; as a
fun fact, the common dog’s closest species is the grey wolf.

Other animals that aren’t that far from the bear, even though we may have never considered
it are: seals, walruses, skunks, raccoons, weasels, badgers, otters, and so on. The Caniformia
suborder of the carnivore fauna is maybe the most “famous” group of animals that exists, but
it definitely has a very close competitor, as the Feliformia (animals with feline features)
includes such animals as cats, lions, tigers, cougars, wildcats, cheetahs, lynxes, hyenas, etc…

Now onto the actual bears, there are only eight species that are extant today. As this
presentation is only about the historical evolution, I will do a brief presentation on them.
Andy Collados

When we think about bears, the colour that first crosses our minds is brown; this is because of
how common the species of the Brown Bear is. This species is well-distinguished not only for
its colour, but also for its hunchback. In reality, most of the species are black, like the
American Bear, the Asian Bear, the Sun Bear, the Sloth Bear and the Spectacled Bear.

The other two bear species that are known the most are the Polar Bear and the Giant Panda.
One of the most curious things about the Polar Bear is the design of its paws. The hind feet
are significantly bigger than the front ones, which help them paddle when swimming. Also,
their paws have a rugged surface so that they won’t slip when walking on ice. Giant Pandas
are captivating animals as well. A strange fact, for instance, is that they can have more than
one cub, but they will only take care of one, meaning the others will die.

It is promptly believed that bears are aggressive animals that will in fact attack people, but
this statement lacks data. Although it is true that bears can attack humans, it doesn’t have to
be that way and this will only happen if they believe they are before a threat, generally
fearing for their young and their food. Bears are nonetheless wild animals and one shouldn’t
approach them without maximum caution, just in case.

Sadly, out of the eight species that are extant in the present, six of them are threatened. Only
the Brown Bear and the Black American Bear are Least Concerned, which means they are
not in any sort of danger at the present moment. The rest are vulnerable animals and in most
cases, especially in the case of the Polar Bear, humans are the reason why this is happening.

Even if vulnerable is the least a species can possibly be threatened, it does shine a light on
how, in a couple century’s time, bears could cease to exist. We can conjecture that Polar
Bears and Giant Pandas will be the first ones to disappear and Brown Bears and American
Bears the last ones, but we can’t really know any detail nor the exact dates.

Logically, no species has yet lived forever and so, it is reasonable to believe that bears will in
fact be extinct and we won’t be able to do anything about that. However, what we can do now
is to delay this from happening as long as possible eradicating hunting, for example, and
encouraging the species to mate. Some may say they don’t know they could help, but the
truth is there are many volunteering ONGs that help animals; the only real challenge is for
you to actually go seek them.

So in short, the bear comes from the arctoidea suborder, which shares ancestors with such
animals as the dog, walrus or otter. Although there are still many bears and eight types that
Andy Collados

are extant, we can assume that in not that many years, the bears will not exist. As this is an
objective presentation, I consider there is not much left to say so I would like to finish by
thanking you for your attention.

REFERENCES:

 Kumar, Vikas; Lammers, Fritjof; Bidon, Tobias; Pfenninger, Markus; Kolter, Lydia; Nilsson, Maria A.
and Janke, Axel. (2017). The Evolutionary history of bears is characterized by gene flows across
species. Scientific Reports. Retrieved March 18, 2018, from
[Link]
 Bears in Mind Foundation (n.d.). The Evolution of the bear speacies. Bears in Mind. Retrieved March
18, 2018 from [Link]
 McIntosh, Mike (n.d.). The Eight (8) Bear Species of the World. Bear With Us. Retrieved March 18,
2018 from [Link]
 McIntosh, Mike (n.d.). Human-bear coexistence. Bear With Us. Retrieved March 18, 2018 from
[Link]
 SEEtheWILD (n.d.) Bear Threats. See the Wild. Retrieved March 18, 2018 from
[Link]