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The Black Bear

The color of these bears vary from pure black to brown, cinnamon orange or blonde. In Yellow, about half are black with a light brown muzzle and half are cinnamon colored. Their height is about 3 feet at the shoulder. The weight of male bears is between 210-315 lbs (95.5 kg - 143 kg), and females are between 135-160 lbs (61.4 kg - 72.7 kg). Their life expectancy in the wild is around 15-20 years.

Black bears are primarily adapted to live in forested areas and their edges and clearings, because black bears have short curved claws better suited to climbing trees than digging. This enables black bears to forage for certain foods or escaping from danger by climbing trees.

The Grizzly Bear

Grizzly bear colors vary from black to blonde, frequently with white-tipped fur giving a grizzled or "silver-tipped" appearance. They can be as high as around 3.5 feet (1.1metre) at the shoulder. Males weigh between 216-717 lbs (98.2 kg - 358.5 kg), and females much lighter at 200-428 lbs (90.9 kg - 194.6 kg). Like black bears they live in the wild between 15-20 years.

While grizzly bears will frequent forested areas, they make much more use of large, non-forested meadows and valleys than do black bears. Grizzly bears have longer less curved claws and a larger shoulder muscle mass better suited to digging than climbing. This enables grizzly bears to efficiently forage for foods which must be dug from the soil such as roots, bulbs, corms and tubers, as well as rodents and their stores.

The "Teddy" Bear

These bears are generally light brown with cream underbelly and inner ear. As many of them walk upright, their average height is between 5 feet 4 inches and range between 4 to 6 feet. The males weight between 150-200 lbs (68.2 - 90.9 kg), and the females between 100-150 lbs (45.5 kg - 68.2 kg). Their life expectancy is between 49-90 years.

Teddy bears sometimes wear clothing, and are particularly fond of hats. Their home range is basically throughout the world, but frequent specific places more than others. Like the other two species, teddy bears are omnivorous, but with a particular liking for cooked food and can often be seen around barbecues and picnic areas sharing their food. They are also often seen in grocery stores and similar to top up their diet. They have been known to become great chefs.

This species of bear is generally tolerant of human company and often work closely together with them. However, there are some that are less domesticated and revert more to traditional bear behaviour and hang out with their wilder cousins, the black bear and grizzly. Caution is encouraged when nearing this type of bear.

More comments on ursines in Yellow

The wilder bears are dangerous and should not be approached. All three species are also extremely fond of freshly caught salmon and honey. Teddy bears also have a great liking for honey beer and drink copious quantities of it.

Here are some coordinates where you can find these bears in Yellow. And like all bears, do try not to get between mother bears and their cubs.

• Yellow 155.02S 1574.86E 0.68a 275. Here are grizzlies fishing. Keep your visibility between 150-200 for best results.
• Yellow 241.74S 1703.08E 0.25a 257. Here you will see interaction between a black bear and a teddy. Be sure to go up into the tower to see more bears.
• Yellow 1844.68S 1646.51E 0.05a 236. You can see the chef and a couple of bears waiting for lunch at Chez Vapeur, one of the finer bistros in Steam City.