Our top 5 Bear Facts

One exciting day this week is 'Hug a Bear Day'. Whilst we would urge you to stay away from real bears and stick to giving your favourite teddy a hug - here are 5 great facts about bears to enjoy from a distance. 

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1. Polar Bears have an extra bone on their wrist that looks a bit like a thumb. This helps them hold the bamboo they are eating. 

2. Although very rare, there is such a thing as a polar-grizzly bear hybrid. They are often called Grolar or Pizzly bears.

3. Bears are REALLY clever. They have the most complex brains for their size of any land mammal and use all this brain power to problem solve, build powerful social relationships and use tools. They are also amazing communicators and have great memories. 

4. Sloth bears like to eat termites and ants so they are well adapted for this diet. Firstly, they have thick claws to rip apart termite nests, they can open and close their nostrils to stop the bugs crawling up their nose AND their lips and tongue form a powerful vacuum which sucks all the bugs up. 

5. Bears are actually quite peaceful. They may look menacing and they will certainly attack if provoked but bears actually really just want to be left alone and are not naturally aggressive.