Family Ursidae - Bears

Ursidae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, which includes the Giant Panda, Brown Bear, and Polar Bear, and many other extant and extinct mammals. A member of this family is called a bear or an ursid. They are widespread across the Americas and Eurasia. Bear habitats are generally forests, though some species can be found in grassland and savana regions, and the polar bear lives in arctic and aquatic habitats.

The family Ursidae consists of eight extant species belonging to five genera in three subfamilies and divided into dozens of extant subspecies. This does not include ursid hybrid species such as grizzly–polar bear hybrids or extinct prehistoric species. Follow the links below for my galleries of the species in each genus. The Panda Bears will be on this main page.

Now that I have seen ever species of bear on the planet, I would like to think I can conquer all of the subspecies! While that may not be practical but it would sure be fun to try!

Follow the links below AND on the images that follow to see the larger galleries for each genus and or species:

Subfamily Ailuropodinae

Genus Ailuropoda (Panda Bears)

Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Giant Panda Bear)

Subfamily Ursinae

Genus Helarctos: (Sun Bear)

Helarctos malayanus (Malayan Sun Bear)

Genus Melursus: (Sloth Bear)

Melursus ursinus (Indian & Sri Lankan Sloth Bear)

Genus Ursus (Palearctic American Bears)

Ursus americanus (North American Black Bear)

Ursus arctos (Brown Bear)

Ursus maritimus (Polar Bear)

Ursus thibetinus (Asian Black Bear)

Genus Tremarctos (Spectacled Bear)

Tremarctos ornatus (Spectacled Bear)