How large is the adult male Kodiak bear?
Kodiak bear
An average adult male measures in length, and stands tall at the shoulder. The largest recorded wild male weighed , and had a hind foot measurement of . A large male Kodiak bear stands up to tall at the shoulder, when it is standing on all four legs. When standing fully upright on its hind legs, a large male could reach a height of . The largest verified size for a captive Kodiak bear was for a specimen that lived at the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, North Dakota. Nicknamed "Clyde," he weighed when he died in June 1987 at the age of 22. According to zoo director Terry Lincoln, Clyde probably weighed close to a year earlier. He still had a fat layer of when he died.
Kodiak bear
Bears were not directly harmed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, although some were displaced from traditional feeding and traveling areas by cleanup crews. No one was injured by a bear, and no Kodiak bears were killed. To mitigate the adverse impacts of the spill, Exxon reached a settlement with the state and federal governments. Paradoxically, the impacts of the oil spill and the subsequent cleanup and settlement proved to be beneficial to bears on Kodiak. Bear-safety training exposed thousands of workers to factual information about bears, and money from the settlement fund was used for funding land acquisitions. By the close of the 20th century, over 80% of the refuge lands that had been lost as a result of ANCSA and ANILCA were reinstated into the refuge, either through direct purchase or by means of conservation easements. Lands were also purchased in America, Westtown, and Shuyak Islands and transferred into state ownership. The Kodiak Brown Bear Trust coordinated a coalition of sportsmen and other wildlife conservation groups from around the nation to lobby for use of settlement funds to acquire Kodiak lands. The groups also directly contributed funding to protect small parcels of important bear habitat around the islands.
Bear hunting
The Kamchatka brown bear ("Ursus arctos beringianus") is a large subspecies found in far eastern Siberia. It is similar to the Kodiak bear, though darker in colour. These bears are usually hunted in the Shantar Islands (Okhotsk) and Magadan. In the spring, bears are hunted in coastal areas where they gather for food. During the autumn, bears are hunted while feeding on salmon or wild berries in the surrounding tundra. The average size of the bears taken is around 7.5-8.0 ft in Magadan and Okhotsk and 8.0-8.5 ft. in Kamchatka.
Kodiak bear
The size range for females (sows) is from , and for males (boars), it is . Mature males average over the course of the year, and can weigh up to at peak times. Females are typically about 20% smaller and 30% lighter than males, and adult sizes are attained when they are 6 years old. Bears weigh the least when they emerge from their dens in the spring, and can increase their weight by 20–30% during late summer and fall. Captive bears can sometimes attain weights that are considerably greater than those of their counterparts in the wilderness.
Cougar
Cougars are slender and agile members of the Felidae. They are the fourth-largest cat species worldwide; adults stand about tall at the shoulders. Adult males are around long from nose to tail tip, and females average , with overall ranges between nose to tail suggested for the species in general. Of this length, the tail typically accounts for . Males generally weigh , averaging . Females typically weigh between , averaging . Cougar size is smallest close to the equator and larger towards the poles. The largest recorded cougar, shot in 1901, weighed ; claims of and have been reported, though they were most likely exaggerated. On average, adult male cougars in British Columbia weigh and adult females , though several male cougars in British Columbia weighed between .
Bearded woodpecker
The bearded woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in Africa growing to a length of about . The head is distinctive with a black moustache, a broad black eye-stripe and black crown contrasting with a white supercilium, face, chin and throat. The male has a red hind crown which the female lacks. The mantle is black and the rest of the upper parts are yellowish-brown with narrow white barring. The tail is brown, barred white, the feathers having yellowish shafts. The underparts are grey with narrow white barring. The beak is large and greyish-black, the legs grey and the eyes red. Juveniles are similar to adults but the upper parts have a greenish tinge and more diffuse barring, and both sexes have some red colouring on the crown and nape.
Kodiak bear
In the past 20 years, bear viewing has become increasingly popular on Kodiak and other parts of Alaska. The most accessible bear-viewing location on Kodiak, Frazer River, had over 1,100 people come in 2007. Visitor numbers have been increasing at about 10% annually and development of additional bear viewing areas on Kodiak is planned. Also, other bear viewing opportunities exist through air-taxi, charter boat, remote lodge, and trekking operations on the archipelago.
Kori bustard
The male kori bustard is , stands tall and may have a wingspan about . Male birds may typically weigh between . The average weight of adult males of the nominate race in Namibia (20 specimens) was , while "A. k. struthiunculus" males were found to average . The larger excepted males can scale up to and a few exceptional specimens may weigh up to at least . Reports of outsized specimens weighing , and even "almost" have been reported, but none of these giant sizes have been verified and some may be from unreliable sources. Among bustards, only male great bustards ("Otis tarda") achieve similarly high weights, making the male kori and great not only the two largest bustards but also arguably the heaviest living flying animals. As a whole, other species, such as Dalmatian pelican ("Pelecanus crispus"), Andean condor ("Vultur gryphus") and trumpeter swan ("Cygnus buccinator"), might weigh more on average between the sexes but are less sexually dimorphic in mass than the giant bustards. The female kori bustard weighs an average of , with a full range of . Females of the nominate race (35 specimens) in Namibia weighed a mean of , while females from "A. k. struthiunculus" weighed a mean of . Female length is from and they usually stand tall and have a wingspan of . The standard measurements of the male include a wing chord of , a tail measures from , a culmen from and a tarsus from . Meanwhile, the female's standard measurements are a wing chord of , a tail of , a culmen from and a tarsus from . Body mass can vary considerably based upon rain conditions.
Brown bear
The grizzly is especially variable in size, as grizzlies from the largest populations, i.e. interior Alaska, with the heaviest weights recorded in Nelchina, Alaska, nearly three times heavier in males than the smallest grizzlies from Alberta, Canada's Jasper National Park. Between the sexes, the grizzlies of Nelchina average around , whereas the Jasper grizzlies averaged about . The enclosed taiga habitat of Jasper presumably is sub-optimal foraging habitat for grizzlies, requiring them to range widely and feed sparsely, thus reducing body weights and putting bears at risk of starvation, while in surfaces areas in the tundra and prairie are apparently ideal for feeding. Even elsewhere in Alberta, weights averaging more than twice those of Jasper grizzlies have been recorded. A gradual diminishment in body size is noted in grizzly bears from the sub-Arctic zone, from the Brooks Range to the Mackenzie Mountains, presumably because food becomes much sparser in such regions, although perhaps the most northerly recorded grizzly bears ever, in the Northwest Territories, was a large and healthy male weighing , more than twice as much as an average male weighs near the Arctic Circle. Data from Eurasia similarly indicates a diminished body mass in sub-Arctic brown bears, based on the weights of bears from northern Finland and Yakutia.
Walia ibex
These animals have a chocolate-brown to chestnut-brown coat coloration, greyish-brown muzzle, and a lighter grey in the eyes and legs. The belly and insides of the legs are white, and black and white patterns stretch upon the legs of these animals. The males weigh 80–125 kg (180-280 lb) and have very large horns which curve backwards, reaching lengths up to . These horns are used for dominance disputes between males. The males also have distinguished black beards. The length of the walia ibex beard varies with age. The older males have longer, thicker beards than the young ones . Females also have horns, but they are shorter and thinner. Females are smaller and lighter in color. The horns on both males and females are rigid. The overall size of the walia ibex is smaller and slimmer than the alpine ibex.
Knut (polar bear)
A year after his public debut, Knut was reported as weighing more than 130 kg (286 lb). A plate of six-inch glass, strong enough to resist a mortar blast, was erected between him and zoo visitors. At the end of March 2008, Markus Röbke, one of the keepers who helped rear Knut, reported that the bear should leave the zoo as soon as possible in order to help him acclimate to a life alone. Röbke also said that Knut plainly misses his past father-figure, Thomas Dörflein, and has become so used to attention that he cries when no one is near his enclosure. "Knut needs an audience," Röbke stated. "That has to change". In April, animal welfare campaigners criticized the zoo for allowing Knut to kill and eat ten carp from the moat surrounding his enclosure, saying that it was a breach of German animal protection regulations. The zoo's bear expert, Heiner Klös, however, said that Knut's behavior was "all part of being a polar bear."
Black caiman
The black caiman is one of the largest extant reptiles. It is the largest predator in the Amazon basin and possibly the largest member of the family Alligatoridae. It is also significantly larger than other caiman species. Most adult black caimans are in length, with a few old males growing larger than . Sub-adult male specimens of around will weigh roughly , around the same size as a mature female, but will quickly increase in bulk and weight. The average size of adult females at their nests was found to be . Mid-sized mature males of weigh approximately , while larger specimens easily exceed , being relatively bulky crocodilians. A relatively small adult male of a total length of weighed while an adult male considered fairly large at a length of weighed approximately . Another sampling of subadult males found them to range in length from , averaging , and that they weighed from , averaging . The black caiman broadly overlaps in size with the American alligator ("Alligator mississippiensis"), although it is on average larger at maturity. In some areas (such as the Araguaia River) this species is consistently reported at in length, much larger than the alligator (which rarely even reaches 4 meters), although specimens this size are uncommon. Several widely reported but unconfirmed (and probably largely anecdotal) sources report that the black caiman can grow to over in length and weigh up to . While it is unclear what the source for this maximum size, many scientific papers accept that this species can attain extreme sizes as such. In South America, two other crocodilians reportedly reach similar sizes: the American crocodile ("Crocodylus acutus") and the Orinoco crocodile ("C. intermedius").
Brown bear
The largest subspecies are the Kodiak bear ("U. a. middendorffi") and the questionably-distinct peninsular or coastal brown bear ("U. a. gyas"). Also the extinct California grizzly bear ("U. a. californicus") was rather large. Once mature, the typical female Kodiak bear can range in body mass from and from sexual maturity onward males range from . According to the "Guinness Book of World Records" the average male Kodiak bear is in total length (head-to-tail) and has a shoulder height of . When averaged between their spring low and fall high weights from both localities, males from Kodiak island and coastal Alaska weighed from with a mean body mass of while the same figures in females were with a mean body mass of . By the time they reach or exceed eight to nine years of age, male Kodiak bears tend to be much larger than newly mature six-year-old males, potentially tripling their average weight within three years' time, and can expect to average between . The reported mean adult body masses for both sexes of the polar bear are very similar to the peninsular giant and Kodiak bears. Due to their roughly corresponding body sizes, the two subtypes and the species can both legitimately be considered the largest living member of the bear family Ursidae and largest extant terrestrial carnivores. The largest widely-accepted size for a wild Kodiak bear, as well as for a brown bear, was for a bear killed in English Bay on Kodiak Island in fall 1894 as several measurements were made of this bear, including a body mass of , and a hind foot and a voucher skull were examined and verified by the "Guinness Book of World Records". Claims have been made of larger brown bears, but these appear to be poorly documented and unverified and some, even if recited by reputable authors, may be dubious hunters' claims.
Bull shark
Bull sharks are large and stout, with females being larger than males. The bull shark can be up to in length at birth. Adult female bull sharks average long and typically weigh , whereas the slightly smaller adult male averages and . While a maximum size of is commonly reported, a single record exists of a female specimen of exactly . The maximum recorded weight of a bull shark was , but may be larger. Bull sharks are wider and heavier than other requiem sharks of comparable length, and are grey on top and white below. The second dorsal fin is smaller than the first. The bull shark's caudal fin is longer and lower than that of the larger sharks, and it has a small snout, and lacks an interdorsal ridge.
Kiang
The kiang is the largest of the wild asses, with an average height at the withers of . They range from high at the withers, with a body long, and a tail of . Kiangs have only slight sexual dimorphism, with the males weighing from , while females weigh . They have a large head, with a blunt muzzle and a convex nose. The mane is upright and relatively short. The coat is a rich chestnut colour, darker brown in winter and a sleek reddish brown in late summer, when the animal moults its woolly fur. The summer coat is 1.5 cm long and the winter coat is double that length. The legs, underparts, end of the muzzle, and the inside of the ears are all white. A broad, dark chocolate-coloured dorsal stripe extends from the mane to the end of the tail, which ends in a tuft of blackish brown hairs.
American black bear
Over much of their range, American black bears are assured scavengers that can intimidate, using their large size and considerable strength, and if necessary dominate other predators in confrontations over carcasses. However, on occasions where they encounter Kodiak or grizzly bears, the larger two brown subspecies dominate them. American black bears tend to escape competition from brown bears by being more active in the daytime and living in more densely forested areas. Violent interactions, resulting in the deaths of American black bears, have been recorded in Yellowstone National Park.
Great bustard
The huge adult male great bustard is amongst the heaviest living flying animal. It is also arguably the most sexual dimorphic extant bird species, in terms of the size difference between males and females. Going on mass, the only known bird with a higher dimorphism is the green peafowl ("Pavo muticus") as the males are apparently near four times as heavy as the female. Among both bustards and all living birds, the upper reported mass of this species is rivaled by that of the kori bustard ("Ardeotis kori"), which, due to its relatively longer tarsi and tail, is both longer and taller on average and is less sexually dimorphic. In terms of weight ranges reported, the great Indian bustard ("Ardeotis nigriceps") also only lags slightly behind these species. A male is typically tall, with a length of around and has a wingspan. The male can range in weight from . Average male weights as reported have been fairly variable: in Russia, males weighed a median of ; in Spain, males weighed a mean of during breeding season and during non-breeding; in Germany, males weighed a mean of ; and the Guinness World Records has indicated that prior to their extirpation male bustards in Great Britain weighed an average of . Average weight of males is almost an exact match to that of male Kori bustards. Among all flying animals and land birds, male Andean condors ("Vultur gryphus") may match or exceed the mean body masses of these male bustards but not their maximum weights. Furthermore, male swans of the two largest species (trumpeter and mute) may attain a similar average mass depending on season and region. In a study in Spain, one male weighed as much as . The heaviest verified specimen, collected in Manchuria, was about . Larger specimens have been reported but remain unverified.
Alaska Peninsula brown bear
There is debate as to if Alaska Peninsula brown bears should be referred to as "grizzlies" along with all other North American subspecies of the brown bear. There is confusion experienced when referring to inland and coastal ones separately, but biologists still maintain that coastal ones are truly brown bears. However, it is considered correct to place all North American members of "U. arctos" in the subspecies "horribilis" except the giant Kodiak bears of Kodiak Island. To avoid confusion, many simply refer to all North American members, including Kodiaks, as "grizzly bears."
Marsican brown bear
The Marsican Brown Bear lives its life in isolation. With their existence dwindling, the 50 bears that remain in the Abruzzo National Park have characteristics that differ from their sibling subspecies. The Marsican Brown Bear, otherwise known as the Abruzzi Brown Bear, has a relatively calm temperament, with no aggression shown towards humans. In terms of size, the male Marsican Bear is larger than most of the brown bear subspecies, with a weight of around 217 kg (480 pounds), while the female is significantly smaller, at around 140 kg (310 pounds). These bears are known to be omnivorous in nature, mainly eating berries, while occasionally eating small animals such as chickens and other livestock. All of these traits the bear shows can likely be attributed to its existence in isolation. Baby Marsican bears tend to grow up fairly quickly.
Caniformia
Family Ursidae (bears) is the largest of all the land caniforms. Eight species are recognized, divided into five genera. They range from the large polar bear (males, or ) to the small sun bear (males, or ) and from the endangered giant panda to the very common black bear. Common characteristics of modern bears include a large body with stocky legs, a long snout, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and a short tail. Most bears are omnivorous, with largely varied diets that include both plants and animals. The polar bear is the most carnivorous of bears due to the arctic climate in which it lives, and shows a preference for eating seals. The giant panda is the most herbivorous bear and has evolved a number of adaptations, including a sixth "toe", specialized teeth, and strong jaw muscles, to allow it to feed nearly exclusively on bamboo, a tough member of the grass family. The sloth bear has some adaptations for ant and termite eating, with a long snout, powerful claws, and missing upper front teeth, though it also eats honey and fruit.
Florida black bear
Florida black bears are typically large-bodied with shiny black fur, a short tail and many have brown fur on their muzzles. Pelage color is consistently black in Florida, but summer molting of guard hair may cause them to look brown. A white chest patch, called a blaze, is found in about 30% of the population. It is Florida's largest terrestrial mammal, with an average male weight of ; the largest known male weighed and was found in Seminole County and the largest known female was and found in Liberty County. Females generally weigh about half as much as males. Average adults have a length of between and , standing between and high at the shoulder. Their feet have short, curved, non-retractable claws on each of the five digits. Black bears walk with the entire sole of their feet touching the ground. Bears use a pacing stride, where both legs on the same side move together so that the hind foot is placed in or slightly in front of the track of the forefoot; the smaller (inner) toe occasionally does not register in the track. Eyes are small, and ears are round and erect.
Asian black bear
Within Sikhote-Alin, the breeding season of black bears occurs earlier than in brown bears, starting from mid June to mid August. Birth also occurs earlier, in mid January. By October, the uterine horns of pregnant females grow to . By late December, the embryos weigh 75 grams. Sows generally have their first litter at the age of three years. Pregnant females generally make up 14% of populations. Similar to brown bears, Asiatic black bears have delayed implantation. Sows usually give birth in caves or hollow trees in winter or early spring after a gestation period of 200–240 days. Cubs weigh 13 ounces at birth, and will begin walking at four days of age, and open their eyes three days later. The skulls of newborn black bear cubs bear great resemblance to those of adult sun bears. Litters can consist of 1–4 cubs, with 2 being the average. Cubs have a slow growth rate, reaching only 2.5 kg by May. Black bear cubs will nurse for 104–130 weeks, and become independent at 24–36 months. There is usually a 2–3 year interval period before females produce subsequent litters. The average lifespan in the wild is 25 years, while the oldest Asian black bear in captivity died at the age of 44.
Coates's shark
At birth, it ranges from a size of to . As an adult, it can range to in length, topping at or .
Brown bear
Adults have massive, heavily built concave skulls, which are large in proportion to the body. The forehead is high and rises steeply. The projections of the skull are well developed when compared to those of Asian black bears ("Ursus thibetanus"): the latter have sagittal crests not exceeding more than 19–20% of the total length of the skull, while the former have sagittal crests comprising up to 40–41% of the skull's length. Skull projections are more weakly developed in females than in males. The braincase is relatively small and elongated. There is a great deal of geographical variation in the skull, and presents itself chiefly in dimensions. Grizzlies, for example, tend to have flatter profiles than European and coastal American brown bears. Skull lengths of Russian brown bears tend to be for males, and for females. The width of the zygomatic arches in males is , and in females. Brown bears have very strong teeth: the incisors are relatively big and the canine teeth are large, the lower ones being strongly curved. The first three molars of the upper jaw are underdeveloped and single crowned with one root. The second upper molar is smaller than the others, and is usually absent in adults. It is usually lost at an early age, leaving no trace of the alveolus in the jaw. The first three molars of the lower jaw are very weak, and are often lost at an early age. The teeth of brown bears reflect their dietary plasticity and are broadly similar to other bears, excluding the two most herbivorous living bears, the giant panda ("Ailuropoda melanoleuca") and the spectacled bear ("Tremarctos ornatus"), which have blunt, small premolars (ideal for grinding down fibrous plants) compared to the jagged premolars of ursid bears that at least seasonally often rely on flesh as a food source. The teeth are reliably larger than American black bears, but average smaller in molar length than polar bears. Brown bears have the broadest skull of any extant ursine bear; only the aforementioned most herbivorous living bears exceed them in relative breadth of the skull. Another extant ursine bear, the sloth bear ("Melursus ursinus"), has a proportionately longer skull than the brown bear and can match the skull length of even large brown bear subtypes, presumably as an aid for foraging heavily on insect colonies for which a long muzzle is helpful as an evolved feature in several unrelated mammalian groups.
Eurasian beaver
Eurasian beavers are one of the largest living species of rodents and are the largest rodent native to Eurasia. They weigh around . In Norway, adult males average while females average , while another study found adults from the same country to average . By the average weights known, the Eurasian beaver appears to be the world's second heaviest rodent behind the capybara, but averaging slightly larger and heavier than the North American beaver. While the largest specimen confirmed on record weighed , the Smithsonian has reported that this species can exceptionally exceed . Typically, the head-and-body length is and the tail length is .
Indian boar
The Indian boar differs from its European counterpart by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build. It is taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed. The tail is also more tufted, and the cheeks hairier. Adults measure from in shoulder height (with one specimen in Bengal having reached 38 inches) and five feet in body length. Weight ranges from .
Red river hog
Adults weigh and stand tall, with a length of . The thin tail is long and ends in a tuft of black hair. The ears are also long and thin, ending in tufts of white or black hair that may each in length. Boars are somewhat larger than sows, and have distinct conical protuberances on either side of the snout and rather small, sharp tusks. The facial protuberances are bony and probably protect the boar's facial tendons during head-to-head combat with other males.
Brown bear
In the roughly 0.9 million years of its existence, brown bears have had to contend with multiple competing species, a majority of which went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Era. In its much longer history in Eurasia, brown bears diverged from the two species of cave bear, the giant ("U. spelaeus") and small cave bears ("U. rossicus"), two species that it existed alongside in what is now Europe for the larger species and Central Asia and Siberia for the smaller species. The cave bears were similar in size to the larger forms of brown bear and polar bear alive today in terms of length, but were bulkier, with much higher-density skeletal remains and presumably rather heavier than the modern brown bear, with the giant cave bear about the same length as a modern Kodiak bear but projected to be some 30% heavier. Pleistocene-era brown bears appear to have been somewhat larger and more carnivorous than most modern forms based on skull dimensions. The cave bears are usually deemed to have been highly herbivorous to a greater extent than the brown bear, based on examinations of stable isotopes and dental morphology. Recent studies, however, have shown that cave bears could have opportunistically adapted to a fairly omnivorous diet and consumed many herbivore carcasses. Despite this, the dietary differences and differing habitat preferences (caves, of course, being much more habitually used by the cave bear rather than by the brown bear) allowed the three "Ursus" to persist at the same time in different parts of Eurasia.
Himalayan brown bear
The Himalayan brown bear ("Ursus arctos isabellinus"), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China and Nepal. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to long while females are a little smaller. These bears are omnivorous and hibernate in a den during the winter. Although present in a number of protected areas, they are becoming increasingly rare because of loss of suitable habitat and hunting by humans, and have become "critically endangered." This bear (as the Dzu-Teh) is thought by some to be the source of the legend of the Yeti.
Cantabrian brown bear
Cantabrian brown bear refers to a population of Eurasian brown bears ("Ursus arctos arctos") living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. Females weigh, on average, 85 kg but can reach a weight of 150 kg. Males average 115 kg though can weigh as much as 200 kg. The bear measures between 1.6 – 2m in length and between 0.90 -1m at shoulder height. In Spain, it is known as the "Oso pardo cantábrico" and, more locally, in Asturias as "Osu". It is timid and will avoid human contact whenever possible. The Cantabrian brown bear can live for around 25–30 years in the wild.
Brown bear
Several paleontologists suggest the possibility of two separate brown bear migrations: inland brown bears, also known as grizzlies, are thought to stem from narrow-skulled bears which migrated from northern Siberia to central Alaska and the rest of the continent, while Kodiak bears descend from broad-skulled bears from Kamchatka, which colonized the Alaskan peninsula. Brown bear fossils discovered in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky and Labrador show the species occurred farther east than indicated in historic records. In North America, two types of the subspecies "Ursus arctos horribilis" are generally recognized—the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly bear; these two types broadly define the range of sizes of all brown bear subspecies.
Red deer
The male (stag) red deer is typically long and weighs ; the female (hind) is long and weighs . The tail adds another and shoulder height is about . In Scotland, stags average in head-and-body length and high at the shoulder and females average long and tall. Size varies in different subspecies with the largest, the huge but small-antlered deer of the Carpathian Mountains ("C. e. elaphus"), weighing up to . At the other end of the scale, the Corsican red deer ("C. e. corsicanus") weighs about , although red deer in poor habitats can weigh as little as . European red deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats. The males of many subspecies also grow a short neck mane during the autumn. The male deer of the British Isles and Norway tend to have the thickest and most noticeable manes. Male Caspian red deer ("C. e. maral") and Spanish red deer ("C. e. hispanicus") do not carry neck manes. Male deer of all subspecies, however, tend to have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer, which may give them an appearance of having neck manes. Red deer hinds (females) do not have neck manes. The European red deer is adapted to a woodland environment.
Polar bear
The polar bear ("Ursus maritimus") is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ("Ursus arctos middendorffi"). A boar (adult male) weighs around , while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their scientific name means "maritime bear" and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. Because of their dependence on the sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals.
Brown bear
The brown bear is the most variable in size of modern bears. The typical size depends upon which population it is from, and most accepted subtypes vary widely in size. This is in part due to sexual dimorphism, as male brown bears average at least 30% larger in most subtypes. Individual bears also vary in size seasonally, weighing the least in spring due to lack of foraging during hibernation, and the most in late fall, after a period of hyperphagia to put on additional weight to prepare for hibernation. Therefore, a bear may need to be weighed in both spring and fall to get an idea of its mean annual weight.
Ussuri brown bear
It is very similar to the Kamchatka brown bear, though it has a more elongated skull, a less elevated forehead, somewhat longer nasal bones and less separated zygomatic arches, and is somewhat darker in color, with some individuals being completely black, a fact which once led to the now refuted speculation that black individuals were hybrids of brown bears and Asian black bears. Adult males have skulls measuring long and wide. They can occasionally reach greater sizes than their Kamchatka counterparts: the largest skull measured by Sergej Ognew (1931) was only slightly smaller than that of the largest Kodiak bear (the largest subspecies of brown bears) on record at the time.
Chondropyga dorsalis
The cowboy beetle grows to 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long with females generally slightly larger than males. It has a yellow-brown colouration and when in flight produce a loud buzzing noise which creates the illusion of a large wasp. It also does this when it feels threatened.
Kodiak bear
Often, bear-viewing and bear-hunting are considered incompatible. Even if the bear population is healthy and bear hunting is sustainable, ethical questions arise especially if hunting occurs near viewing areas and either during or soon after the viewing season. Many feel that it is not fair to encourage bears to be close to people during the summer, only to allow them to be shot in the fall. The Kodiak bear plan recognized bear hunting as a legitimate, traditional, and biologically justifiable activity. It recommended that agencies find ways to make bear hunting and bear viewing compatible on the archipelago.
Kodiak Kowboy
Kodiak Kowboy (foaled April 16, 2005 in Kentucky) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse owned by Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farms and trained by Steve Asmussen. He was also trained by Larry Jones for part of his career. In 2007 he won a Sovereign Award as Canadian Champion 2-Year-Old Colt.
Kodiak Kowboy is a multiple grade one winning horse and top class sprinter. In 2009, he was voted the Eclipse Award as the American Champion Sprint Horse (2009) for his victories in the Carter Handicap, Vosburgh Stakes and Cigar Mile Handicap.
Kodiak bear
Alaska achieved statehood in 1959 and assumed responsibility for managing the state’s wildlife. The Alaska Board of Game reduced bear-hunting seasons on Afognak and Raspberry Islands and on the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, but liberalized bear seasons on nonrefuge lands on Kodiak. During the 1960s, state biologists worked with ranchers along the Kodiak road system to examine and reduce the predation problem. Biologists reported that cattle and bears were not compatible on the same ranges and potential solutions included poisons, fences to isolate cattle ranges, and aerial shooting of bears. Again, sport hunters voiced their support for Kodiak bears. In spite of public pressure, the state continued actively pursuing and dispatching problem bears until 1970.
Škoda Kodiaq
Earlier, it was assumed that the new SUV would be called "Snowman" or "Polar", but this has been rejected by the former head of Škoda (Vahland) as a media speculation. On 23 December 2015, Škoda registered the name "Kodiaq", the name refers to the largest brown bear, the Kodiak bear.
Bearded saki
Bearded sakis differ from the closely related saki monkeys of the genus "Pithecia" by a pronounced beard, a tuft of hair that extends from its jaw, down its throat to the top of its chest, and is strongly pronounced particularly in the males. The tail is long and hairy, and is used for balance and not grasping. Bearded sakis reach from 32 to 51 cm in size and a weigh from 2 to 4 kg.
Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
The borough has a total area of , of which is land and (45.5%) is water. Most of the land area belongs to Kodiak Island, but a thin strip of coastal area on the western part of the Alaska Peninsula and other nearby islands (Afognak Island, Shuyak Island, Marmot Island, Raspberry Island, Little Raspberry Island, Whale Island, Spruce Island, Woody Island, Uganik Island, Sitkalidak Island, Tugidak Island, Sitkinak Island, Chirikof Island, and the Semidi Islands) are also in the borough. The waterway between the island and mainland is known as the Shelikof Strait. South of the island are the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, so the site is considered good for launching certain types of satellites. The Kodiak Launch Complex is ideal for putting satellites in Molniya and polar orbits.
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,913 people, 4,424 households, and 3,256 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 5,159 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 59.69% White, 0.96% Black or African American, 14.58% Native American, 16.04% Asian, 0.79% Pacific Islander, 2.78% from other races, and 5.16% from two or more races. 6.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.10% reported speaking Tagalog at home, a language of the Philippines, while 5.28% speak Spanish.
Giant cowbird
The male giant cowbird is long, weighs and is iridescent black, with a long tail, long bill, small head, and a neck ruff which is expanded in display. The female is smaller, averaging long and weighing . She is less iridescent than the male, and the absence of the neck ruff makes her look less small-headed. Juvenile males are similar to the adult male, but browner, and with a pale, not black, bill.
Kodiak bear
Bears live throughout the archipelago, adapting to local resources and retaining relatively small home ranges and comparable densities in most habitats. Emerging vegetation and animals that died during the winter are the first foods bears eat in the spring. As summer progresses, a wide variety of vegetation supplies nutritional needs until salmon return. Salmon runs extend from May through September on most of the archipelago and bears consume the five species of Pacific salmon that spawn in local streams and lakes. In the late summer and early fall, bears consume several types of berries. Bears also feed on wind-rowed seaweed and invertebrates on some beaches throughout the year. Although deer are abundant on the archipelago and mountain goats are abundant on Kodiak Island, few Kodiak bears actively prey on them. Another food source available year-round is the garbage supplied by the human population of Kodiak Island. As climate change causes elderberries to ripen earlier, berry season is now overlapping with salmon season and some bears are abandoning salmon runs to focus on the berries.
Brown bear
The normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a head-and-body length of and a shoulder height of . The tail is relatively short, as in all bears, ranging from in length. The smallest brown bears, females during spring among barren-ground populations, can weigh so little as to roughly match the body mass of males of the smallest living bear species, the sun bear ("Helarctos malayanus"), while the largest coastal populations attain sizes broadly similar to those of the largest living bear species, the polar bear. Interior brown bears are generally smaller than is often perceived, being around the same weight as an average lion, at an estimate average of in males and in females, whereas adults of the coastal populations weigh about twice as much. The average weight of adult male bears from 19 populations, from around the world and various subspecies (including both large- and small-bodied subspecies), was found to while adult females from 24 populations were found to average .
Grizzly bear
Coastal grizzlies, often referred to by the popular but geographically redundant synonym of "brown bear" or "Alaskan brown bear" are larger and darker than inland grizzlies, which is why they, too, were considered a different species from grizzlies. Kodiak grizzly bears were also at one time considered distinct. Therefore, at one time there were five different "species" of brown bear, including three in North America.
Bear
The bears form a clade within the Carnivora. The red panda is not a bear but a musteloid. 
The cladogram is based on molecular phylogeny of six genes in Flynn, 2005.
There are two phylogenetic hypotheses on the relationships among extant and fossil bear spcies. One is all species of bears are classified in seven subfamilies as adopted here and related articles: Amphicynodontinae, Hemicyoninae, Ursavinae, Agriotheriinae, Ailuropodinae, Tremarctinae, and Ursinae. Below is a cladogram of the subfamilies of bears after McLellan and Reiner (1992) and Qiu et a. (2014):
The second alternative phylogenetic hypothesis was implemented by McKenna et al. (1997) is to classify all the bear species into the superfamily Ursoidea, with Hemicyoninae and Agriotheriinae being classified in the family "Hemicyonidae". Amphicynodontinae under this classification were classified as stem-pinnipeds in the superfamily Phocoidea. In the McKenna and Bell classification both bears and pinnipeds in a parvorder of carnivoran mammals known as Ursida, along with the extinct bear dogs of the family Amphicyonidae. Below is the cladogram based on McKenna and Bell (1997) classification:
The phylogeny of extant bear species is shown in a cladogram based on complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from Yu et al., 2007. The giant panda, followed by the spectacled bear are clearly the oldest species. The relationships of the other species are not very well resolved, though the polar bear and the brown bear form a close grouping.The bear family includes the most massive extant terrestrial members of the order Carnivora. The polar bear is considered to be the largest extant species, with adult males weighing and measuring in total length. The smallest species is the sun bear, which ranges in weight and in length. Prehistoric North and South American short-faced bears were the largest species known to have lived. The latter estimated to have weighed and stood tall. Body weight varies throughout the year in bears of temperate and arctic climates, as they build up fat reserves in the summer and autumn and lose weight during the winter.
Brown bear
Brown bears usually occur over vast home ranges; however, they are not highly territorial. Several adult bears often roam freely over the same vicinity without issue, unless rights to a fertile female or food sources are being contested. Males always cover more area than females each year. Despite their lack of traditional territorial behavior, adult males can seem to have a "personal zone" in which other bears are not tolerated if they are seen. Males always wander further than females, due to both increasing access to females and food sources, while females are advantaged by smaller territories in part since it decreases the likelihood of encounters with male bears who may endanger their cubs. In areas where food is abundant and concentrated, such as coastal Alaska, home ranges for females are up to and for males are up to . Similarly, in British Columbia, bears of the two sexes travel relatively compact home ranges of and . In Yellowstone National Park, home ranges for females are up to and up to for males. In Romania, the largest home range was recorded for adult males (3,143 km, 1214 sq mi). In the central Arctic of Canada, where food sources are quite sparse, home ranges range up to in females and in males.
Colorado River toad
The Colorado River toad can grow to about long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad ("Rhinella marina"). It has a smooth, leathery skin and is olive green or mottled brown in color. Just behind the large golden eye with horizontal pupil is a bulging kidney-shaped parotoid gland. Below this is a large circular pale green area which is the tympanum or ear drum. By the corner of the mouth there is a white wart and there are white glands on the legs. All these glands produce toxic secretions.
Central bearded dragon
Adults of this species can reach a total length of up to , with the tail accounting for more than half. Sexes are not strongly dimorphic, but males can be distinguished from females as males have a wider cloacal opening, the base of the tail is wider, the head is usually larger with a larger beard and possess hemipenes. Males also have more pronounced femoral pores than females (these can be seen as waxy bumps on the underside of the back legs). Bearded dragons vary widely in colour, including brown, reddish-brown, red, yellow, white, and orange. They are capable of undergoing moderate changes in the shade of their colour to help regulate temperature. The specialized scales along both sides of the throat, neck, and head form many narrow spines which run down the side of the body to the tail. When feeling threatened, a bearded dragon will flatten its body against the ground, puff out its spiny throat and open its jaws to make itself appear larger. The bearded dragon is so named because of the pouch-like projection (also called the guttural pouch) on the underside of the neck and chin area which typically turns darker than the rest of the body. It also boasts spiny projections. Both of these characteristics appear similar to a human's beard. Males typically have a darker "beard" than females, and during mating season and courtship it will typically darken to near-black. The bearded dragon, like most agamid lizards, has strong legs which enable it to lift its body completely off the ground while it moves. This is done to reduce the heat taken in from the ground, as well as to increase the air flow over the belly to cool itself further.
Kodiak bear
Professional interest in guided Kodiak bear hunts and a concern for unregulated resource use in frontier lands such as Alaska prompted the territorial government’s newly established Alaska Game Commission to abolish commercial bear hunting (selling the hides) on the archipelago in 1925. The impacts of the new regulations seemed to restore bear populations on the Kodiak islands. By the 1930s, ranchers on northeast Kodiak reported an increase in bear problems and demanded action. Bears were also seen as a threat to the expanding commercial salmon-fishing industry. To address the dilemma of conserving bears while protecting cattle, salmon, and people, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge by executive order in 1941. The refuge roughly encompasses the southwestern two-thirds of Kodiak Island, Uganik Island, the Red Peaks area on northwestern Afognak Island, and all of Ban Island.
Mexican beaded lizard
Adult beaded lizards range from in length. They are substantially larger than the Gila monster, which only reaches lengths of . The snout-to-vent length of a beaded lizard averages . The average body mass of an adult beaded lizard is , about 45% heavier than the average mass of a gila monster, with large specimens exceeding . Maximum weight known is Although males are slightly larger than females, the lizards are not sexually dimorphic. Both males and females are stocky with broad heads, although the males' tend to be broader. The beaded lizard's scales are small, beadlike, and not overlapping. Except for the lizard's underside, the majority of its scales are underlaid with bony osteoderms.
Kamchatka brown bear
It is a very large bear, the largest in Eurasia, with a body length of 2.4 meters, to 3 meters tall on hind legs and a weight up to 650 kg (1433 lbs). It is nearly the size of the Kodiak bear; however, the skull is broader than that of the Ussuri brown bear, and compared to that of the Kodiak bear, the breadth of the skull is much greater in proportion to its length, the anterior narial opening is much shorter, and the molars differ in relative size and form. The greatest skull length for males is 40.3–43.6 cm and 25.8–27.7 cm wide, while the skulls of females measure 37.2–38.6 cm in length and 21.6–24.2 cm in width. Fur colour is predominantly dark brown with a violet tint. Light coloured individuals are rarely encountered.
Spectacled bear
The spectacled bear is the only bear native to South America and is the largest land carnivoran on that part of the continent, although as little as 5% of its diet is composed of meat. South America's largest obligate carnivorous mammal is the jaguar ("Panthera onca"). Among South America's extant, native land animals, only the Baird's tapir ("Tapirus bairdii"), South American tapir ("T. terrestris") and mountain tapir ("T. pinchaque") are heavier than this species. The spectacled bear is a mid-sized species of bear. Overall, its fur is blackish in color, though bears may vary from jet black to dark brown and to even a reddish hue. The species typically has distinctive beige or ginger-coloured markings across its face and upper chest, though not all spectacled bears have "spectacle" markings. The pattern and extent of pale markings are slightly different on each individual bear, and bears can be readily distinguished by this. Males are a third larger than females in dimensions and sometimes twice their weight. Males can weigh from , and females can weigh from . Head-and-body length can range from , though mature males do not measure less than . On average males weigh about and females average about , thus it rivals the polar bear for the most sexually dimorphic modern bear. A male in captivity that was considered obese weighed . The tail is a mere in length, and the shoulder height is from . Compared to other living bears, this species has a more rounded face with a relatively short and broad snout. In some extinct species of the Tremarctinae subfamily, this facial structure has been thought to be an adaptation to a largely carnivorous diet, despite the modern spectacled bears' herbivorous dietary preferences.
Thorold's deer
Thorold's deer is one of the largest deer species, with a shoulder height around . Males, which typically weigh from , are significantly larger than females, at in weight. The hair is coarse and grey-brown over most of the body, fading to yellowish buff on the underparts, with a distinct reddish-brown patch on the rump, and a ridge of darker hair running down the spine. During winter, the coat is paler, and about twice as thick as during the summer, being thicker even that of a moose. The head is darker than the rest of the body, especially in males, and contrasts with pure white markings on the lips, around the nose, and the throat just below the chin.
Adult male Thorold's deer have antlers, measuring up to in beam length, and weighing up to . Compared with those of wapiti or red deer, the antlers are flattened with the first and second ("bez") tines noticeably far apart. The antlers can have up to seven tines, which all lie in the same plane. They are shed annually in March, reaching their full length by late summer. Other distinctive features include longer ears than most other deer, lined with white hair, and large metatarsal and preorbital glands. The hooves are broad and heavy, with unusually long dewclaws. The tail is short, at in length.
Common coquí
Full-grown male coquís measure, from snout to vent, from 30 to 37 mm, with an average of 34 mm, while full-grown females measure from 36 to 52 mm, with an average of 41 mm. The location of the frog also effects the size, for example the higher the elevation, the larger the coquis become. The size differences between genders are a result of additional energy consumption related to breeding behavior by males.
Cocoi heron
The Cocoi heron is the largest of the South American heron species and measures in length, although body sizes vary regionally; with southern individuals probably being the largest. Adult weight of both males and females can variously range from . In the adult, wing length has been recorded as , tail length , culmen from base and tarsus . Sizes are similar to its North American counterpart, the great blue heron, although the latter may average slightly larger. The sexes are alike in both body size and colouration. It has a grey back and upper wings and a white S-shaped neck, thighs, under-tail wing coverts and scapulars; with black streaks on the neck and upper breast. The forehead and crown of the head are black and this black extends down to the eye region and up to the pointed crest hanging down the nape. There is also black streaking on the neck and black patches on sides of the lower breast and abdomen. Leg colour has been reported as black, brownish-grey or dark green.
Kodiak bear
Kodiak bears reach sexual maturity at age five, but most sows are over nine years old when they successfully wean their first litter. The average time between litters is four years. Sows continue to produce cubs throughout their lives, but their productivity diminishes after they are 20 years old. Mating season for Kodiak bears is during May and June. They are serially monogamous (having one partner at a time), staying together from two days to two weeks. As soon as the egg is fertilized and divides a few times, it enters a state of suspended animation until autumn when it finally implants on the uterine wall and begins to grow again. Cubs are born in the den during January or February. Weighing less than at birth with little hair and closed eyes, they suckle for several months, emerging from the den in May or June, weighing . Typical litter sizes on Kodiak are two or three cubs, with a long-term average of 2.4 cubs per litter. However, Kodiak bears have six functional nipples and litters up to six cubs have been reported. Sows are sometimes seen with five or six cubs in tow, probably due to adopting cubs from other litters. Most cubs stay with their mothers for three years. Almost half of the cubs die before they leave, with cannibalism by adult males being one of the major causes of death.
Short-faced bear
In a recent study, the mass of six "A. simus" specimens was estimated, one-third of them weighed about , the largest being UVP 015 at , suggesting specimens that big were probably more common than previously thought. It stood tall on hind legs while a large specimen would have been tall with a 14-foot (4.3 m) vertical arm reach. When walking on all fours, it stood high at the shoulder: It was tall enough to look a man in the eye. At Riverbluff Cave, Missouri, a series of claw marks up to 15 feet (4.57 m) high have been found along the cave wall indicating short-faced bears up to 12 feet (3.66 m) tall.
Binky (polar bear)
As a full-grown bear, Binky weighed 1,200 pounds. He was an aggressive bear; in 1980, he bit off a zoo employee's finger. His keeper commented in 1983, "Binky is stubborn [and] independent, and he likes to play games. When he's really feeling obstinate, he walks halfway into his den and sits down. He knows I can't close it. He's a very smart bear."
Mexican grizzly bear
Known in the Opatas language as the "pissini", the Mexican grizzly bear was one of the heaviest and largest mammals in Mexico. It reached a length up to and an average weight of . Due to its silver fur it was often named "el oso plateado" (the silvery bear). The Mexican grizzly bear was smaller than the grizzly bears in the United States and Canada. The general color was pale buffy yellowish varying to grayish-white, grizzled from the darker color of the underfur. Specimens in worn pelage varied to yellowish-brown and reddish. The longest fur hairs were on the throat and the flanks. The belly was sparsely haired, lacking the thick underfur of the back and the flanks.
Asian black bear
Asiatic black bears are black and have a light brown muzzle. They are white on the chin, and have a distinct white patch on the chest, which sometimes has the shape of a V. Their ears are bell shaped, proportionately longer than those of other bears, and stick out sideways from the head. The tail is long.
Adults measure at the shoulder, and in length. Adult males weigh with an average weight of about . Adult females weigh , and large ones up to .
Bald eagle
The size of the bird varies by location and generally corresponds with Bergmann's rule, since the species increases in size further away from the Equator and the tropics. For example, eagles from South Carolina average in mass and in wingspan, smaller than their northern counterparts. One field guide in Florida listed similarly small sizes for bald eagles there, at about . Of intermediate size, 117 migrant bald eagles in Glacier National Park were found to average but this was mostly (possibly post-dispersal) juvenile eagles, with 6 adults here averaging . Wintering eagles in Arizona (winter weights are usually the highest through the year since like many raptors they spend the highest percentage of time foraging during winter) were found to average . The largest eagles are from Alaska, where large females may weigh more than and span across the wings. A survey of adult weights in Alaska showed that females there weighed on average , respectively, and males weighed against immatures which averaged and in the two sexes. An Alaskan adult female eagle that was considered outsized weighed some . R.S. Palmer listed a record from 1876 in Wyoming County, New York of an enormous adult bald eagle that was shot and reportedly scaled . Among standard linear measurements, the wing chord is , the tail is long, and the tarsus is . The culmen reportedly ranges from , while the measurement from the gape to the tip of the bill is . The bill size is unusually variable as Alaskan eagles could be up to twice the bill length of "southern birds" (i.e. from Georgia, Louisiana, Florida), with means in between the sexes of and in culmen length, respectively, from these two areas.
The call consists of weak staccato, chirping whistles, "kleek kik ik ik ik", somewhat similar in cadence to a gull's call. The calls of young birds tend to be more harsh and shrill than those of adults.
Wildlife of Phitsanulok Province
Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Common characteristics of modern bears include a large body with stocky legs, a long snout, shaggy hair, paws with five nonretractile claws, and a short tail. The Department of National Parks reports that there are Asiatic black bears ("Ursus thibetanus") living in the wild in Phitsanulok Province. This bear species has been classified as a vulnerable species, meaning likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
Bullsnake
Adult bullsnakes average about in total length, and specimens of up to have been recorded. Possibly being the largest subspecies of gopher snake on average, mature specimens can have an average weight in the range of , though the heavier known specimens can attain , larger specimens being quite bulky for a colubrid snake. This makes the bullsnake among the largest snakes native to Canada and the United States, although it is generally not as long as indigo snakes nor as heavy or as large in diameter as rattlesnakes. They are usually yellow, with brown, white, black or sometimes reddish blotching. The blotching pattern is as follows: large blotches on top, three sets of spots on the sides, and bands of black on the tail. Many color variations have been found, including albinos and white varieties. A scale count is required to distinguish juvenile bullsnakes from other juvenile gopher snakes.
Red kangaroo
Males grow up to a head-and-body length of with a tail that adds a further 1.2 to the total length. Females are considerably smaller, with a head-and-body length of and tail length of . Females can weigh from , while males typically weigh about twice as much at . The average red kangaroo stands approximately tall to the top of the head in upright posture. Large mature males can stand more than tall, with the largest confirmed one having been around tall and weighed .
American black bear
In the state of California, studies have indicated that the average mass is in adult males and in adult females. Adult American black bears in Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Alaska were found to average in males and in females, whereas on Kuiu Island in southeast Alaska (where nutritious salmon are readily available) adult American black bears averaged an estimated . In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, adult males averaged and adult females averaged per one study. In one of the largest studies on regional body mass, bears in British Columbia averaged in 89 females and in 243 males. In Yellowstone National Park, a population study found that adult males averaged and adult females averaged . Black bears in north-central Minnesota averaged in 163 females and in 77 males. In New York, the two sexes reportedly average and , respectively. It was found in Nevada and Lake Tahoe region that black bears closer to urban regions were significantly heavier than their arid-country dwelling counterparts, with males near urban areas averaging against wild-land males which averaged whereas peri-urban females averaged against the average of in wild-land ones. In Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta adults reportedly averaged . Adults typically range from in head-and-body length, and in shoulder height. The typically small tail is long. Although they are the smallest bear species in North America, large males exceed the size of other bear species, except the brown bear and the polar bear.
Kodiak bear
Physiologically, the Kodiak bear is very similar to the other brown bear subspecies, such as the mainland grizzly bear ("Ursus arctos horribilis") and the now-extinct California grizzly bear ("U. a. californicus"†), with the main difference being in size. While there is generally much variation in size between brown bears in different areas, most usually weigh between 115 and 360 kg (254 and 794 lb). The Kodiak bear, on the other hand, commonly reaches sizes of , and has even been known to exceed weights of . Despite this large variation in size, the diet and lifestyle of the Kodiak bear does not differ greatly from that of other brown bears.
Baird's tapir
Baird's tapir has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or grayish brown. This tapir is the largest of the four American species and the largest native land mammal in both Central and South America. Baird's tapirs average in length but can range between , not counting a stubby, vestigal tail of , and in height. Body mass in adults can range from . Like the other species of tapirs, they have small, stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.
Kodiak bear
The Kodiak bear ("Ursus arctos middendorffi"), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies of brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear.
Sankebetsu brown bear incident
Yamamoto was familiar with Kesagake's behaviour and successfully tracked him down. Yamamoto spotted the bear resting near a Japanese oak. He approached to within 20 meters of the bear and shot at it. His first shot hit the bear's heart and the second shot his head, fatally wounding the animal. When measured, the bear was 340 kg (749 lbs) and 2.7 m (8.85 ft) tall. A necropsy was carried out on the bear during which parts of his victims were found in his stomach. While at the time the skull and some of the fur of the bear were kept, they later were lost and no traces of Kesagake are left.
Space Farms Zoo and Museum
Founded in 1927, the zoo is home to a wide selection of mammals and reptiles of the North America region and all over the world, including some endangered species. At one time, Space Farms was host to the largest bear in captivity in the world, a Kodiak bear named Goliath. The 2,000-pound (900 kg) Goliath still stands tall in front of a diverse taxidermy exhibit in the main hall of the museum. He was preserved in an imposing upright position after his death in 1991. His abnormally large skull is upstairs, where one can compare it to skulls of other animals.
Karelian Bear Dog
Males stand at the withers; females are shorter, at . Both sexes weigh about 20–23 kg (44.1–50.7 lbs).
North American beaver
This beaver is the largest rodent in North America and competes with its Eurasian counterpart, the European beaver, for being the second-largest in the world, both following the South American capybara. The European species is slightly larger on average but the American has a larger known maximum size. Adults usually weigh from , with being typical. In New York, the average weight of adult male beavers was , while non-native females in Finland averaged . However, adults of both sexes averaged in Ohio. The species seems to conform to Bergmann's rule, as northern animals appear to be larger. In the Northwest Territory, adults weighed a median of . The American beaver is slightly smaller in average body mass than the Eurasian species. The head-and-body length of adult North American beavers is , with the tail adding a further . Very old individuals can exceptionally exceed normal sizes, weighing more than or even as much as (higher than the maximum known for the Eurasian beaver).
Kodiak bear
Russian hunters came to the area in the late 18th century to capitalize on the abundant fur resources. Bear hides were considered a "minor fur" and sold for about the same price as river otter pelts. The number of bears harvested increased substantially when sea otter populations declined and after the United States acquired Alaska in 1867, bear harvests on Kodiak increased, peaking at as many as 250 bears per year. Commercial fishing activities increased in the late 1880s and canneries proliferated throughout the archipelago. Bears were viewed as competitors for the salmon resource and were routinely shot when seen on streams or coasts. At the same time, sportsmen and scientists had recognized the Kodiak bear as the largest in the world, and they voiced concerns about overharvesting the population.
Kodiak bear
In 1975, construction of a logging road began on Afognak Island, and timber harvesting began in 1977. In 1979, work began on an environmental impact statement for the Terror Lake hydroelectric project on Kodiak Island. That project included an earthen dam on Terror Lake with Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and a tunnel through a mountain ridge to a penstock and powerhouse in the Kizhuyak River drainage. The hydro project was the first significant invasion of inland bear habitat on Kodiak Island. To address the opposition encountered from the public and agencies, a mitigation settlement was negotiated in 1981 which included brown bear research and establishment of the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust. The hydroelectric project was completed in 1985. Human alteration of bear habitat on Kodiak and Afognak Islands spurred renewed interest and funding for bear research on the archipelago, resulting in a surge of baseline and applied bear research on Kodiak through the 1980s and 1990s.
Kodiak bear
Kodiak bears are the largest brown bear, comparable in size to polar bears. This makes Kodiak bears and polar bears both the two largest members of the bear family and Kodiak bears the largest extant terrestrial carnivorans.
Kodiak bear
The standard method of evaluating the size of bears is by measuring their skulls. Most North American hunting organizations and management agencies use calipers to measure the length of the skull (back of sagittal crest on the back of the skull to the front tooth), and the width (maximum width between the zygomatic arches — "cheek bones"). The total skull size is the sum of these two measurements. The largest bear ever killed in North America was from Kodiak Island, with a total skull size of , and eight of the top 10 brown bears listed in the Boone and Crockett record book are from Kodiak. The average skull size of Kodiak bears that were killed by hunters in the first five years of the 21st century was for boars, and for sows.
American lion
The American lion is estimated to have measured from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail and stood at the shoulder. Thus, it was smaller than its contemporary competitor, the giant short-faced bear, which was the largest carnivoran of North America at the time, and larger than the saber-toothed cat, "Smilodon fatalis", which may have weighed up to . In 2008, the American lion was estimated to weigh up to . A study in 2009 showed an average weight of for males and for the largest specimen analyzed. A study in 2012 estimated a range of for males and for females, which suggests that the lion was heavier than "Smilodon".
Spectacled bear
Spectacled bears are one of four extant bear species that are habitually arboreal, alongside the American black bear ("Ursus americanus") and Asian black bear ("U. thibetanus"), and the sun bear ("Helarctos malayanus"). In Andean cloud forests, spectacled bears may be active both during the day and night, but in Peruvian desert are reported to bed down under vegetative cover during the day. Their continued survival alongside humans has depended mostly on their ability to climb even the tallest trees of the Andes. They usually retreat from the presence of humans, often by climbing trees. Once up a tree, they may often build a platform, perhaps to aid in concealment, as well as to rest and store food on. Although spectacled bears are solitary and tend to isolate themselves from one another to avoid competition, they are not territorial. They have even been recorded to feed in small groups at abundant food sources. Males are reported to have an average home range of during the wet season and during the dry season. Females are reported to have an average home range of in the wet season and in the dry season. When encountered by humans or other spectacled bears, they will react in a docile but cautious manner, unless the intruder is seen as a threat or a mother's cubs are endangered. Like other bears, mothers are protective of their young and have attacked poachers. There is only a single reported human death due to a spectacled bear, which occurred while it was being hunted and was already shot. The only predators of cubs include cougars ("Puma concolor") and possibly male spectacled bears. The bears "appear to avoid" jaguars, but the jaguar has considerably different habitat preferences, does not overlap with the spectacled bear in altitude on any specific mountain slope, and only overlaps slightly (900m) in altitude if the entire Cordillera Oriental is considered based upon unpublished data. Generally, the only threat against adult bears is humans. The longest-lived captive bear, at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, attained a lifespan of 36 years and 8 months. Lifespan in the wild has not been studied, but bears are believed to commonly live to 20 years or more unless they run afoul of humans.
Giant forest hog
The giant forest hog is, on average, the largest living species of suid. Adults can measure from in head-and-body length, with an additional tail length of . Adults stand in height at the shoulder, and can weigh from . Females are smaller than males. Females weigh a median of approximately , as opposed to males, which weigh a median of . The eastern nominate subspecies is slightly larger than "H. m. rimator" of Central Africa and noticeably larger than "H. m. ivoriensis" of West Africa, with the latter sometimes being scarcely larger than related species such as the bushpig with a top recorded weight of around . The giant forest hog has extensive hairs on its body, though these tend to become less pronounced as the animal ages. It is mostly black in colour on the surface, though hairs nearest the skin of the animal are a deep orange colour. Its ears are large and pointy, and the tusks are proportionally smaller than those of the warthogs, but bigger than those of the bushpig. Nevertheless, the tusks of a male may reach a length of .
Gaur
The gaur has a head-and-body length of with a long tail, and is high at the shoulder, averaging about in females and in males. At the top of its muscular hump just behind its shoulder, an average adult male is just under tall and the male's girth at its midsection (behind its shoulders) averages about . Males are about one-fourth larger and heavier than females. Body mass can range widely from in adult females and in adult males. In general measurements are derived from gaurs surveyed in India. Indian gaur males averaged about (in a sample of 13) and females weigh a median of approximately . Body masses elsewhere suggest gaurs outside of India can grow larger. For example, males from China ("B. g. laosiensis") can weigh or more. The Seladang, or Malayasian subspecies, ("B. g. hubbacki") appears to be larger on average than the nominate race from India, but sample sizes as known are small. According to some sources, seladang bulls weigh on average , which if accurate indicates these animals are on average more than 20% more massive than the gaurs of India.
Kodiak bear
Since statehood, the reported number of Kodiak bears killed by hunters has ranged from 77 (1968–1969) to 206 (1965–1966). From 2000 to 2006, an average of 173 Kodiak bears were killed by hunters each year (118 during the fall season and 55 in the spring season). Over 75% of those were males. An additional nine bears were reported killed annually in defense of life or property during the same time. The number of large, trophy-sized bears (total skull size at least ) killed by hunters in recent years has been increasing. In the 1970s, only 2.5% of the bears killed on Kodiak were trophy-sized; in the 1990s and 2000s, the proportion increased to almost 9%.
Bear attack
Natural observers believe that most bear species are near-sighted, which allows bears to forage for small objects such as berries. However, bears are also capable of discerning faraway movements, helping them hunt prey. The Kodiak bear, when compared to other species, appears to have vision comparable to a human (not near-sighted). Experiments show that black bears can see color, unlike many mammals. With scientists still working to determine exactly how perceptive bear eyes are, it is difficult to compare bear eyesight with human eyesight.
Kamchatka brown bear
The Kamchatka brown bear ("Ursus arctos beringianus"), also known as the Far Eastern brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear native to the Anadyrsky District, the Kamchatka Peninsula, Karaginskiy Island, the Kuril Islands, the coastal strip west of the Sea of Okhotsk southward to the Stanovoy Range, and the Shantar Islands. Outside the former Soviet Union, the subspecies occurs in Saint Lawrence Island in the Bering sea. It is closely related to one clade of brown bears in Alaska and northwest North America, and is thought to be the ancestor of the Kodiak bear.
Winnipeg (bear)
The story of Winnie the bear was portrayed in the 2004 movie "A Bear Named Winnie" starring Michael Fassbender as Colebourn and Bonkers, a 650-pound male American black bear, as the adult Winnie. In 2011, Winnipeg author M.A. Appleby, whose father was a friend of Colebourn's son, wrote a children's book about the bear's life titled "Winnie the Bear".
Bear hunting
The Siberian brown bear ("Ursus arctos collaris") is larger than the Eurasian brown bear, with denser bones and a slightly larger and heavier skull. Its fur is considered to be among the most luxuriant. It is smaller than the Kamchatka brown bear, though it is also said to be equal in aggression to an American grizzly. It lives east of the Yenisey River in most of Siberia (though absent in the habitats of the Kamchatka and Amur brown bears.) It is also found in northern Mongolia, far northern Xinjiang, and extreme eastern Kazakhstan. They are usually hunted in the Krasnoyarsk Region, Irkutsk Region and Yakutia in late August and early June. These hunts usually take place in rugged and heavily forested terrain, in the foothills of the mountains, or along the shorelines, where the forest is less dense.
Kodiak bear
Kodiak bears begin entering their dens in late October. Pregnant sows are usually the first to go to dens; males are the last. Males begin emerging from their dens in early April, while sows with new cubs may stay in dens until late June. Bears living on the north end of Kodiak Island tend to have longer denning periods than bears in the southern areas. Most Kodiak bears dig their dens in hill or mountain sides and they use a wide variety of denning habitats depending on which part of the archipelago they live. Almost a quarter of the adult bears forgo denning, staying somewhat active throughout the winter.
Bearded bellbird
Like other cotingas, the bearded bellbird has a broad hooked-tipped bill, rounded wings, strong legs and a striking appearance. The male is approx 28 cm 11 in long, and weighs . His plumage is white or greyish-white apart from the black wings and warm brown head. He sports a grotesque "beard" of un-feathered, black stringy wattles.
Sika deer
The largest subspecies is the Manchurian sika deer ("C. n. mantchuricus"), in which males commonly weigh about and females weigh , with large stags scaling up to . On the other end of the size spectrum, in the Japanese sika deer ("C. n. nippon"), males weigh and females weigh . All sikas are compact and dainty-legged, with short, trim, wedge-shaped heads and a boisterous disposition. When alarmed, they often display a distinctive flared rump, much like the American elk.
Bobcat
The adult bobcat is long from the head to the base of the tail, averaging ; the stubby tail adds and its "bobbed" appearance gives the species its name. An adult stands about at the shoulders. Adult males can range in weight from , with an average of ; females at , with an average of . The largest bobcat accurately measured on record weighed , although unverified reports have them reaching . Furthermore, a June 20, 2012 report of a New Hampshire roadkill specimen listed the animal's weight at . The largest-bodied bobcats are from eastern Canada and northern New England of the subspecies "L. r. gigas", while the smallest are from the southeastern subspecies "L. r. floridanus", particularly those in the southern Appalachians. The bobcat is muscular, and its hind legs are longer than its front legs, giving it a bobbing gait. At birth, it weighs and is about in length. By its first birthday, it weighs about .
Leopard shark
The large first dorsal fin is positioned about halfway between the pectoral and pelvic fins; the second is almost as large as the first and much larger than the anal fin. The pectoral fins are wide and triangular. The lower lobe of the caudal fin is well-developed in adults but less than half the length of the upper lobe, which has a strong ventral notch near the tip. The coloration is unique, consisting of prominent black "saddles" and large black spots running along the back, on a silvery to bronzy gray background. Adult sharks often have more spots and saddles with lighter centers compared to juveniles. The underside is whitish and plain. The average length of a leopard shark is . Rarely males may grow to and females , and there is a record of an exceptional female that measured long. The heaviest known leopard shark weighed .
Brown greater galago
The brown greater galago has a head-and-body length of 26 to 47 cm (32 cm on average), a tail length of 29 to 55 cm, and a weight of 0.5 to 2 kg. The brown greater galago exhibits sexual size dimorphism with males being larger than the females. This is due to bimaturism, a longer period of growth in the male, on average 84.5 more days. While males and females galagos grow at the same rate, this longer growth period results in males averaging 16% more body mass than females. On average females weigh , and males .
Cave bear
The cave bear had a very broad, domed skull with a steep forehead. Its stout body had long thighs, massive shins and in-turning feet, making it similar in skeletal structure to the brown bear. Cave bears were comparable in size to the largest modern-day bears. The average weight for males was , though some specimens weighed as much as 1000 kg (2,200 lb), while females weighed . Of cave bear skeletons in museums, 90% are male due to a misconception that the female skeletons were merely "dwarfs". Cave bears grew larger during glaciations and smaller during interglacials, probably to adjust heat loss rate.
Eared seal
Male otariids range in size from the 70-kg (150-lb) Galápagos fur seal, smallest of all pinnipeds, to the over 1,000-kg (2,200-lb) Steller sea lion. Mature male otariids weigh two to six times as much as females, with proportionately larger heads, necks, and chests, making them the most sexually dimorphic of all mammals.
Sun bear
The sun bear is the smallest of the bear species. Adults are about long and weigh . Males are 10–20% larger than females. Their muzzles are short and light-coloured, and in most cases, the white area extends above the eyes. Their paws are large, and the soles are fur-less, which is thought to be an adaptation for climbing trees. Their claws are large, curved, and pointed. The sun bear's claws are sickle-shaped; the front paw claws are long and heavy. The tail is long.
Ussuri brown bear
The Ussuri brown bear ("Ursus arctos lasiotus"), also known as the black grizzly is a subspecies of the brown bear. One of the largest brown bears, a very large Ussuri brown bear may approach the Kodiak bear in size.
Brown bear
Brown bear size, most often measured in body mass, is highly variable and is correlated to extent of food access. Therefore, bears who range in ecozones that include have access to openings, cover and moisture or water tend to average larger whereas those bears that range into ecozones with enclosed forested areas or arid, sparsely vegetated regions, both of which tend to be sub-optimal foraging habitat for brown bears, average smaller. The brown bear in northern Europe (i.e. Scandinavia, eastern Europe, western Russia), Yellowstone National Park or interior Alaska seasonally weigh on average between , from mean low adult female weights in spring to male bear mean high weights in fall. Bears from the Yukon Delta, interior British Columbia, Jasper National Park and southern Europe (i.e. Spain, the Balkans) can weigh from on average. These mass variations represent only two widespread subspecies, the grizzly bear in North America and the Eurasian brown bear in Europe. Due to the lack of genetic variation within subspecies, the environmental conditions in a given area likely plays the largest part in such weight variations.
Corsac fox
The corsac fox is a medium-sized fox, with a head and body length of , and a tail long. Adults weigh from . It has grey to yellowish fur over much of the body, with paler underparts and pale markings on the mouth, chin, and throat. During the winter, the coat becomes much thicker and silkier in texture, and is straw-grey in colour, with a darker line running down the back.
Wildlife of Alaska
Kodiak Island is home to Kodiak bears, another subspecies that is the largest type of brown bear in the world.
Himalayan brown bear
Himalayan brown bears exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males range from 1.5m up to 2.2m (5 ft - 7 ft 3in) long, while females are 1.37m to 1.83m (4 ft 6 in - 6 ft) long. They are the largest animals in the Himalayas and are usually sandy or reddish-brown in colour .