Black Bears by Sarah Jane Brian HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Black Bears by Sarah Jane Brian PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Photodisc/Getty Images. Title page First Light/Getty Images. 2 Joel Sartore/Getty Images. 3 DiMaggio/Kalish/CORBIS. 4 Altrendo/Getty Images. 6 Daniel J. Cox/CORBIS. 7 Tony Arruza/CORBIS. 8 First Light/Getty Images. 10 Joel Sartore/Getty Images. 11 Lowell Georgia/CORBIS. 12 Photodisc/Getty Images. 13 Lake County Museum/CORBIS. 14 Robert Caputo/Getty Images. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02628-2 ISBN-10: 0-547-02628-5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Bear on the Prowl The black bear felt hungry. He sniffed the morning air. Food smells were coming from a campsite at the edge of the forest. The bear began to stride toward the tempting smell. A locked cooler full of food sat on the ground. But the bear strained for only a moment to open it. One swipe with his massive paw, and the top popped right off. The bear began to eat. Suddenly, two hikers walked into their campsite. Lunging at them, the bear also let out a deep growl. The hikers wheeled around and ran away. Bears will eat berries, leaves, fish, honey, and other things they can find in the woods. 2
Bears raid campsites for food. But then the scared hikers stopped running and froze. The bear stopped, too. The bear did not want to hurt the hikers. He just wanted to scare them away from his food. Then the bear went back to finish his meal. When a black bear runs towards a person and stops short, it is called a bluff charge. That means the bear does not want a fight. It wants to be left alone. But people often do not know this. They are picturing bears as a bigger danger than they really are. The result is a dangerous situation for both people and bears. 3
Getting close to a bear in the wild makes most people frantic with fear. There are good reasons. Bears can easily hurt or kill a person. But black bear attacks are rare. In fact, most black bears are afraid of people. When they see a person, they usually run away. But sometimes bears do attack people. Usually attacks happen because people do not know how to behave in bear country. And frightened people sometimes kill bears. So it s smart to learn more about these animals. Bears are attracted to food left at campsites. 4
Getting to Know Black Bears Black bears are the smallest bears in North America. They usually weigh about 150 to 500 pounds. Grizzly bears and polar bears are much bigger. They can be as much as 1,500 pounds. Thousands of years ago, even larger animals lived on Earth. There were short-faced bears, saber-toothed cats, and others. Black bears were too small to fight these big animals. Many of these large animals lived on the grassy plains. So black bears stayed in the woods. Curved claws helped them climb trees to escape danger. Black bears learned to eat plant foods since larger animals took most of the prey. Because of this history, black bears are still shy today. They would rather run away from danger than fight. 5
Black bears still live in forests. Cubs, or baby bears, romp on the forest floor while their mother looks for food. Cubs learn to climb trees very early. They are safe there among the branches. Black bears can be found from Canada to northern Mexico. They live in dozens of northern states. On the East Coast, most black bears are actually black. Farther west, some black bears are brown, cinnamon colored, white, or even bluish gray. Black bears with white fur are sometimes called spirit bears. 6
Beekeepers use wire fences to keep bears away. Black bears have a good sense of smell. This helps them find food in the forest. Some favorites are nuts, berries, roots, and grasses. Another common food for black bears is insects. Bears often break open rotten logs to find the tasty grubs inside. When bears raid a beehive, they gobble down the honey. But bears also eat the bees. When they can get it, black bears eat meat and fish. Black bears will eat almost anything. 7
In the fall, bears will walk for miles to find as much food as possible. At this time of year, a bear may eat 20,000 calories every day. That s about as much as 42 hamburgers! All that food turns into a thick layer of fat. During the winter, the bear lives off the fat. The bear crawls into a den to sleep. In very cold places, the bear may stay in its den without eating or drinking for seven months. Most of a black bear s food comes from plants. 8
Bears and People Bears eat all kinds of food. Unfortunately, that includes the foods people eat. When bears get used to getting food from people, it means big trouble for the bears. People have hunted and killed bears for hundreds of years. Sometimes farmers kill bears that eat crops or kill farm animals. Other times, people hunt bears for sport or simply out of fear. Years ago, black bears were completely wiped out in many places. Today, more and more people have moved into bear country. People have built houses in the woods. Campers have shouldered backpacks full of food and hiked into the wilderness. Bears quickly sniff out people s garbage, pet food, and even birdfeeders. Once a bear sees people as a food source, it will return again and again. 9
Bears search people s rubbish for food. Bears that get food from people often lose their natural fear of humans. Instead of bounding away, they come looking for a meal. That is when a black bear becomes dangerous. It may break into cars, homes, or tents looking for food. Some bears start attacking people. Checking a bear s violent behavior once it starts is very hard. Bears that attack people are often shot and killed. Bears that spend time near people also walk across roads. Cars occasionally hit them. 10
It s good to know what to do if you find yourself in bear country. How can you help keep black bears safe? How can you keep yourself safe? Here are some tips. Leave them alone. Don t give them food. Keep food and garbage in bear-proof containers. Travel in groups. Make noise to scare bears away. Today, park rangers teach families about bears before the families go camping in the woods. 11
The Real Teddy Bear President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt loved the woods. He often went hunting. One day, Roosevelt saw a young black bear. Because the bear was so small, he refused to shoot it. Newspapers everywhere reported the story. Soon, a new toy was created. It was a little stuffed bear. It was named after the popular President. People loved the teddy bear and began to learn about real bears. 12
Visitors go to Yellowstone National Park to see the bears. Don t Feed the Bears For many years, visitors to Yellowstone National Park loved to feed the black bears that lived there. Feeding the bears made a fun picture. Bears ate candy bars, chips, or whatever people fed them. But many people were hurt. Bears often bit or scratched. Some bears became violent problem bears. Hundreds of bears were either shipped to zoos or killed. Today, park bears are left alone to find their own natural foods. 13
Good News The good news is that today black bears are doing well. Scientists say that there are 700,000 or more black bears. Bear numbers are growing in many places. But people s numbers are growing, too. We must protect land for black bears and learn how to live peacefully with them. These important animals need our help to stay safe. Black bears need lots of forestland to survive. 14
Responding TARGET VOCABULARY Word Builder What other words could you use to describe a bear bounding through the woods? Copy the word web and add more words.? running bounding lunging? Write About It Text to Text What makes a bear run away? Write about another animal that you have read about that might run away for the same reason. Tell what happened. Use words from the web in your writing. 15
TARGET VOCABULARY bounding checking frantic lunging picturing romp shouldered strained stride wheeled TARGET STRATEGY Visualize Use text details to form pictures in your mind of what you are reading. Drop the -ing and it s what a waiter gives you at the end of your meal. 16
Level: Q DRA: 40 Science Strategy: Visualize Word Count: 1,272 5.2.7 Build Vocabulary HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13:978-0-547-02628-2 ISBN-10:0-547-02628-5 1032573