Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos). This bear, also known as the European bear, is a large animal that is found in many wild and mountainous areas of Europe and across northern Asia. This male is just 4 years old but weighs around 200 kilograms, about half of his possible mature weight. Brown bears are omnivorous. Their diet includes meat, insects, nuts, berries and leaves, which enables them to remain active throughout the year except in the very cold parts of their range, where they will hibernate. Originally, meat formed 80% of the diet for this species but this reduced to 40% in the Middle Ages and is now just 15% as the bears' have lost habitat over the centuries. Photographed in Gramat Parc Animalier, France. |