Class:Mammals(Mammalia)
Order:Carnivores(Carnivora)
Family:Ursidae
The Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos marsicanus) is a subspecies genetically distinct from the bears of the Alps and is therefore endemic to central Italy. Recent scientific research has estimated a population of about 50 specimens in the park and surrounding areas. On average, an adult male bear weighs around 140–210 kg (females are smaller) and has a maximum length of 150–180 cm. Their life expectancy is around 35-40 years. They have highly developed hearing and a keen sense of smell, which helps them in their search for food. Unlike their sense of smell and hearing, their eyesight is rather poor. The bear’s call is called a “roar”.
Habits and Diet
The forest is the most important habitat for bears: it provides them with shelter, tranquillity and food. However, depending on the season, it is not uncommon for bears to frequent high-altitude grasslands or cultivated fields in the valley floor. Being an omnivorous animal (i.e. feeding on both plant and animal matter), bears are able to adapt to different types of habitat, provided they are peaceful and safe.
Bears are omnivorous animals, feeding on both plants and animals, although 80% of their diet consists of plants. Their diet varies seasonally depending on what nature has to offer: berries and wild fruits, insects and larvae, honey and animal carcasses.
When the first cold spells arrive and food begins to become scarce, bears seek out a dry and safe shelter where they can spend the winter. In their dens, bears fall into a kind of hibernation that allows them to cope with low temperatures and lack of food. This is not true hibernation: unlike other species, bears remain fairly responsive to external stimuli and may even leave their dens on fine winter days. During this period, they do not feed and survive on the fat they accumulated in autumn, which acts as both an energy reserve and thermal insulation.
Social behaviour and relations with humans
May marks the beginning of the mating season for bears.
Both males and females can mate with multiple partners during the same season, meaning that cubs from the same litter may have different fathers.
In February, during hibernation, the female gives birth to 1 to 3 cubs. At birth, the cubs weigh less than 500 grams and are completely dependent on their mother. Thanks to their mother’s milk, which is particularly rich in fat, the cubs grow quickly and are weaned in the summer.
The cubs remain with their mother for more than a year.
