Etusivu Brown bear

Brown bear

Ursus arctos arctos

The lives of the bears of the north are punctuated by the changing seasons. When they emerge from their winter slumber, they refuel by eating meat. The summer is mating season, and in the autumn, they fatten up on berries and other energy-rich food. They neither eat nor drink during hibernation in the winter.

The female gives birth to cubs during hibernation, in January. Born blind and almost hairless, the cubs crawl to the mother’s teats and doze next to the mother until the entire family emerges a couple of months later in the spring. The cubs follow their mother for about two years.

Conservation

This species and the individuals living in Korkeasaari Zoo are part of an ex-situ conservation programme by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria EAZA, known as the EEP.

Brown bear is part of the CITES convention, which regulates the international trade of endangered or threatened animals and plants.

Bear Castle

EAZA Ex-Situ Programme