Brown Bear

by Tornado

RESEARCH QUESTION


How are brown bears so
fast even though they are huge?
[table id=281 /

HOW CAN BROWN BEARS RUN SO FAST?
It seems to be crazy that brown bears are able to run so fast. They are really big and they have no tale. Because cheetahs are fast and they have a tong tail for balance but brown bears don’t.  How!

LOCOMOTION:

  •  have a shuffling, lumbering walk
  •  flat-footed and pigeon-toed
  •  walk with both legs on one side moving together
  •  paws strike the ground in the following sequence: Right forepaw then left hind paw then the left forepaw followed by the right hind paw (Brown, 1993)
  • when walking at a fast pace, the hind paw is often placed well in front of the forepaw track.
  • Brown bears can run very fast over a short distance and have been clocked at 35 to 40mph. (56 to 65 kph) (Brown, 1993)
  • even over a long distance, they can quickly cover a great deal of ground and climb steep banks with ease.

STRENGTH

  • gets  power for runnung  from a heavy skeleton and a thick layer of muscles
  • hump on their backs is actually a mass of muscles
  • muscles in hump allow bear to make a powerful striking force with their fore paws
  • this means they have a lot of “get up and go”
  • With a thick layer of muscles they can push boulders and dig as well as sprint

Sources

Brown Bear by  National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/b/brown-bear/

Kodiak Bear (Ursus arctos middendorfi)
by Robin Barefield (photos by Mike Munsey http://www.munseysbearcamp.com/bears.html

VIDEO: Don’t even try to run away! Grizzly bear running at full speed <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJ26jnweas>
BE SURE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO IN SLOW MOTION TO  SEE THE BEAR’S RUNNING FORM.  THIS IS A GRIZZLY BUT IT RUN THE SAME WAY ASA A KODIAK BEAR.