LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Bears: Animals
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Bears have 32 to 42 teeth, depending on the species, and these teeth reflect a varied diet of both plants and animals. Although all bears are members of the order Carnivora and are meat eaters, all but polar bears have become omnivorous—that is, they eat many types of foods, including lichens, roots, nuts, fruits, berries, seaweed, grasses, honey, grubs, caterpillars, and ants. Bear teeth are not as sharp or specialized for shearing meat as are those of some other carnivores, such as cats. For instance, canine teeth in most carnivores are generally large and pointed and are used for killing prey. In bears... these teeth are relatively small, and bears typically use them more to defend themselves or as tools. The molar teeth of bears are broad and flat, adapted to shredding and grinding plant food into small, easily digested pieces.
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There is ... evidence that, unlike their neighbours elsewhere, the brown bears of Alaska's ABC islands are more closely related to polar bears than they are to other brown bears in the world. Researchers Gerald Shields and Sandra Talbot of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology studied the DNA of several samples of the species and found that their DNA is different from that of other brown bears. The researchers discovered that their DNA was unique compared to brown bears anywhere else in the world. The discovery has shown that while all other brown bears share a brown bear as their closest relative, those of Alaska's ABC Islands differ and share their closest relation with the polar bear.[12] There is also supposed to be a very rare large bear in China called the blue bear, which presumably is a type of black bear. This animal has never been photographed.
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The grizzly is the most aggressive of all the bears. The grizzly has no enemies or predators. The grizzly rarely fights and when he does, it usually is the victor. Grizzlies forage for food in the spring and summer. They are omnivorous, which means that they eat both vegetable and animal matter. Its diet includes fruits, berries, nuts, roots, fish, rodents, and occasionally other animals.
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Polar bears are among the largest predators in the world. They range in color from pure white after a molt to a yellowish shade resulting from solar oxidation or staining by oil from seal blubber. Their skin, nose and lips are black in color. Polar bears’ long neck and narrow skull aid in streamlining the animal in water, and their large, flat and oar-like front feet make them strong swimmers. Their fur is thicker than any other bears’ even covering their feet, for warmth and traction on ice. Polar bears ... have a thick layer of blubber which provides buoyancy and insulation.
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With their gruff outgoing personalities, their burly physiques and strong characters make bears easy to identify. Their natural confidence and swaggering gaits puts others on notice that a bear is present. They require a great deal of personal space and when they enter a room, the tension level rises. As youngsters, bears excel in sports, although their propensity for laziness relegates it to being an observer and fan in later life. Familiar with the seduction of the couch, their ability to sleep soundly is legendary throughout the animal world.
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Some scientists believe that bears and animals in the raccoon family share a common ancestor and are more closely related to each other than to other carnivores. Other scientists believe that bears are more closely related to walruses and sea lions. In the past, zoologists placed the giant panda in the raccoon family, but recent analysis of the giant panda’s genetic makeup and fossil evidence have convincingly established the giant panda as a member of the bear family.
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