bear

Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. 熊被归类为犬科动物，或类似狗的食肉动物。虽然现存的熊只有八种，但它们分布广泛，在整个北半球和部分南半球出现在各种各样的栖息地。现代熊的共同特征包括身体大、腿粗、口鼻长、耳朵小而圆、毛发蓬乱、长有五只不可收缩的爪子和短尾巴。

While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets. With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell. Despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period of hibernation, up to 100 days. 虽然北极熊主要是食肉动物，大熊猫几乎完全以竹子为食，但剩下的六个物种是杂食动物，饮食也各不相同。除了求偶期间和带着幼崽的母亲外，熊通常是独居动物。它们可能是昼间或夜间活动的，嗅觉极好。尽管它们身材魁梧，步态笨拙，但他们擅长跑步、攀岩和游泳。熊使用洞穴和圆木等庇护所作为巢穴；大多数物种在冬季占据巢穴进行长时间的冬眠，长达100天。

During hibernation, the bear's metabolism slows down, its body temperature decreases slightly, and its heart rate slows from a normal value of 55 to just 9 beats per minute.

This terminology (the brown one; wild animal) for the animal originated as a taboo avoidance term: proto-Germanic tribes replaced their original word for bear, arkto, with this euphemistic expression out of fear that speaking the animal's true name might cause it to appear.

这种动物的术语（棕色的；野生动物）起源于一个避讳术语：原始日耳曼部落用这种委婉的表达取代了熊的原名arkto，因为担心说出动物的真名可能会导致它出现。

The constellation of Ursa Major as depicted in Urania's Mirror, c. 1825
c. = century or circa (about)
Urania's Mirror; or, a view of the Heavens is a set of 32 astronomical star chart cards, first published in November 1824 [想象力过于丰富了]

Giant pandas at the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries. 四川大熊猫保护区的大熊猫。

• a bear garden = place or meeting at which there is much rough or noisy behaviour
• like a bear with a sore head = irritable; bad-tempered
• a bull in a china shop = person who is rough and clumsy when skill and care are needed
• a bear hug is a rather rough, tight, affectionate hug

小熊猫，又名熊猫、红熊猫、红猫熊、小猫熊，有时在中文中也称火狐，英文中亦有“Fire Fox”即是对其的直接译名，分布在中国南方到喜马拉雅山麓、不丹、印度、老挝、缅甸、尼泊尔等国。它究竟应该列在熊科或浣熊科是多年来一直被争论的问题，最近经过基因分析，认为与美洲大陆的浣熊亲缘关系最接近，应该单独列为小熊猫科。小熊猫是中国重点保护野生动物（二级）。