Vanessa Underwood, age 11, of Barre, Vt., for her question:
HOW MANY KINDS OF BEARS ARE THERE?
Bears are among the favorite animals found in zoos and circuses. The large, powerful animals look friendly and playful but all of them are dangerous.
There are seven different species of bears in the world. They include the big brown bears, American black bears, Asiatic black bears, polar bears, sun bears, sloth bears and spectacle bears.
Big brown bears are among the largest bears in the world. Included in this group are the Alaskan brown bears, the Kodiak bears and the famous grizzly bears of western North America. Alaska brown bears grow to be 9 feet tall while grizzlies can be 8 feet tall.
Grizzlies are rarely seen now except in Alaska and the mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming because most of them have been killed off. At one time they were plentiful from the Black Hills of South Dakota westward and from Mexico to northern Alaska.
Efforts to protect them are paying off. Today there are about 200 grizzly bears living in Yellowstone National Park.
American black bears are among the most common species today. The Asiatic black bears are fiercer than most other kinds.
Polar bears are the best swimmers of all bears and can travel 3 to 6 mph in the water. They are fast on land, too, and can run about 25 mph.
Smallest of all bears is the sun bear. He only grows to be about 3 feet.
Sloth bears get their name from an old English word meaning "slow." They are fond of honey and are often called honey bears. Mostly they live in India and Sri Lanka.
Spectacled bears are the only species of bear that lives in South America. It gets its name from half circles of white fur around its eyes that look very much like spectacles. You can find this bear living in the cool mountain forests of Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Most bears live north of the Equator, with only the spectacled bear living south of it. Bears are found in Asia, Europe, North America and in the Arctic near the North Pole. No wild bears live in Africa, Antarctia or Australia.
Most bears look bigger than they actually are. Long, thick fur and loose skin give them a very full and shaggy look.
A male bear is called a boar or a he bear while a female is called a sow or a she bear.
The gestation period for a bear depends on the species but it runs from seven to nine months. Usually two babies are born at a time but it can range from one to four.
Bears usually live alone or with immediate family members and never gather in packs. They live between 15 and 30 years.